System and method for providing watch-now functionality in a media content environment

ABSTRACT

Described herein are techniques for streaming digital media content, such as music, video, or television content. In accordance with an embodiment, the system includes support for watch-now functionality. A media play logic at a media device controls playback of media content and advertisements as received from a media server, and can be configured for regular media play, or extended media play. Periodically, for example when input is received from a user to skip to a next media option for playback, the user can be prompted to watch an advertisement, in return for extended media play. Upon receiving an election by the user to watch the advertisement in return for extended media play, the media application plays the advertisement, and configures the media play logic for an extended period of advertisement-free media play.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/976,359, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FORPROVIDING WATCH NOW FUNCTIONALITY IN A MEDIA ENVIRONMENT”, filed Apr. 7,2014; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/988,790, titled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DELIVERING MEDIA CONTENT WITH MUSIC-STYLEDADVERTISEMENTS”, filed May 5, 2014; each of which above applications areherein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention are generally related to techniques forstreaming digital media content, such as music or video content, and areparticularly related to systems and methods for providing watch-nowfunctionality in a media content environment.

BACKGROUND

Today's consumers enjoy the ability to access a tremendous amount ofmedia content, such as music and videos, at any location or time of day,using a wide variety of media devices. With the availability of reliablehigh-speed Internet connectivity, and advances in digital rightsmanagement, users can stream media content, on demand, from peer devicesor remote media servers. For example, a connected media environment orplatform allows a user to select which of several media devices shouldbe used to play a particular media content, such as streaming a selectedsong to a particular audio speaker, or streaming a selected movie to aparticular television.

With such availability, there is an interest in providing additionalmedia content which can be tailored to particular users or environments.These are examples of the types of media environments in whichembodiments of the invention can be used.

SUMMARY

In accordance with various embodiments, described herein are techniquesfor streaming digital media content, such as music, video, or televisioncontent, and providing additional media content, such as advertisementor other sponsor-directed content. In accordance with an embodiment, thesystem includes support for watch-now functionality. A media play logicat a media device controls playback of media content and advertisementsas received from a media server, and can be configured for regular mediaplay, or extended media play. Periodically, for example when input isreceived from a user to skip to a next media option for playback, theuser can be prompted to watch an advertisement, in return for extendedmedia play. Upon receiving an election by the user to watch theadvertisement in return for extended media play, the media applicationplays the advertisement, and configures the media play logic for anextended period of advertisement-free media play.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a digital media environment, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a connected media environment, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 3 further illustrates an example of a connected media environment,in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 further illustrates an example of a connected media environment,in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a system that supports selection of music-styledsponsor-directed content or advertisements, for insertion into a mediastream, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a data collection environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a data aggregation environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates a data processing topology, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates a content targeting architecture, in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary advertisement weighting and selection,in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary user/device information, in accordancewith an embodiment.

FIG. 12 further illustrates a system that supports selection ofmusic-styled sponsor-directed content or advertisements, for insertioninto a media stream, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates a method for selection of music-styledsponsor-directed content or advertisements, for insertion into a mediastream, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates a system that supports watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 15 illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 16 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 17 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 18 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 19 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 20 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 21 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 22 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 23 illustrates a method for providing watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 24 illustrates a system that supports selection of targetedadvertisements based on a playlist context, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 25 further illustrates selection of targeted advertisements basedon a playlist context, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 26 further illustrates selection of targeted advertisements basedon a playlist context, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 27 further illustrates selection of targeted advertisements basedon a playlist context, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 28 further illustrates selection of targeted advertisements basedon a playlist context, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 29 illustrates method of selecting targeted advertisements based ona playlist context, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 30 illustrates a system that supports delivery of media contentwith enhanced user-sponsor interaction, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 31 further illustrates delivery of media content with enhanceduser-sponsor interaction, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 32 further illustrates delivery of media content with enhanceduser-sponsor interaction, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 33 further illustrates delivery of media content with enhanceduser-sponsor interaction, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 34 illustrates a method for supporting delivery of media contentwith enhanced user-sponsor interaction, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 35 illustrates a system that supports delivery of media content andsponsor-directed content or advertisements across a connected mediaenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 36 further illustrates delivery of media content andsponsor-directed content or advertisements across a connected mediaenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 37 further illustrates delivery of media content andsponsor-directed content or advertisements across a connected mediaenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 38 further illustrates delivery of media content andsponsor-directed content or advertisements across a connected mediaenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 39 further illustrates delivery of media content andsponsor-directed content or advertisements across a connected mediaenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 40 illustrates a method for supporting delivery of media contentand sponsor-directed content or advertisements across a connected mediaenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As described above, today's consumers enjoy the ability to access atremendous amount of media content, such as music and videos, at anylocation or time of day, using a wide variety of media devices. With theavailability of reliable high-speed Internet connectivity, and advancesin digital rights management, users can stream media content, on demand,from peer devices or remote media servers. For example, a connectedmedia environment or platform allows a user to select which of severalmedia devices should be used to play a particular media content, such asstreaming a selected song to a particular audio speaker, or streaming aselected movie to a particular television.

With such availability, there is an interest in providing additionalmedia content which can be tailored to particular users or environments.To address this, in accordance with various embodiments, describedherein are techniques for streaming digital media content, such asmusic, video, or television content, and for providing additional mediacontent, such as advertisement or other sponsor-directed content.

In accordance with an embodiment, the system includes support forproviding music-styled advertisement or other sponsor-directed content.Metadata describes media content that can be streamed or otherwiseprovided to a user's media device. A media streaming logic and targetingservice analyzes a playing media content, and selects advertisements fordelivery in conjunction with that content. For example, the system candetermine a genre, tempo, or mood of music being streamed during asession, and select advertisements targeted to a style of music.Information associated with the user, for example their location, can beused to predict their mood, and select appropriate advertisements.Advertisements can also be selected based on an analysis of, forexample, a playlist description or a song lyrics.

In accordance with another embodiment, the system includes support forwatch-now functionality. A media play logic at a media device controlsplayback of media content and advertisements as received from a mediaserver, and can be configured for regular media play, or extended mediaplay. Periodically, for example when input is received from a user toskip to a next media option for playback, the user can be prompted towatch an advertisement, in return for extended media play. Uponreceiving an election by the user to watch the advertisement in returnfor extended media play, the media application plays the advertisement,and configures the media play logic for an extended period ofadvertisement-free media play.

In accordance with another embodiment, the system includes support forselection of targeted advertisement or other sponsor-directed contentbased on a playlist context. A media device enables access by a user toone or more playlists of media content at a media server. Advertisementscan be selected for providing to the user, based on one or morecharacteristics of a playlist, such as the playlist's description, orthe playlist being part of an advertisement campaign. For example, aplaylist bearing a particular descriptive title can be used to triggeradvertisements that may be relevant to that descriptive title. Adding aparticular song to a playlist can be used to trigger advertisements thatmay be relevant to that song.

In accordance with another embodiment, the system includes support fordelivery of media content with enhanced user-sponsor interaction. Userinteraction with a media device can be provided by, for example, voiceor tactile command, in addition or as an alternative to the device'sregular user interface. For example, a user can interact with anadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content, by speaking to orshaking their device, to signal a preference for a particular type ofcontent or advertisement. As another example, a spoken or shaking actioncan be used to trigger or to pause an advertisement break within a mediastream, so that the user can control advertisement breaks to better suittheir particular lifestyle.

In accordance with another embodiment, the system includes support fordelivery of media content and advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent across a connected media environment. Playback can selectivelyfollow a user from one location to another location, or from one mediadevice to another media device, either maintaining a same session orswitching sessions depending on the user's location, media device used,and user activity. Playback of advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent can be synchronized between different areas of the connectedmedia environment, or between different media devices, for examplebetween a secondary device such as an audio speaker in a particularroom, which is being controlled by a primary device such as a smartphonein another room.

These and other embodiments are described in further detail herein.Additional modifications and variations will be apparent to thepractitioner skilled in the art.

Introduction to Connected Media Environments

In accordance with an embodiment, a connected media environment allowsusers to select which of several media devices should be used to stream,play, or otherwise access a particular media content. For example, auser may wish to stream a selected song to a particular audio speakerdevice to be played thereon, or stream a selected movie to a particulartelevision device.

In some connected media environments, the user can control playback ofmedia content at a first media device, for example an audio speaker ortelevision, using a second media device, for example a smartphone. Eachmedia device can be associated with a user account or other form ofidentification which allows a backend media server to recognize variousmedia devices as potential destinations for streaming media content. Auser media-access request, to stream, play, or otherwise access aparticular media content can be associated with an appropriatedestination device at which that media content should be streamed,played or otherwise accessed.

For example, a smartphone associated with a particular user account canbe used to send a “next song” command as a media-access request to amedia server, to cause a particular song to be played at a destinationaudio speaker similarly associated with that user account. The mediaserver can then stream the corresponding song to that audio speaker.Commands can be similarly used, for example, to pause, replay, skip, orotherwise control access to songs or to other media content by thedestination device.

An example of a connected media environment is the “Spotify Connect”environment, which is generally used herein as an illustrative examplein accordance with an embodiment. In accordance with other embodiments,the features and techniques described herein can also be used with othertypes of connected media environment.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a digital media environment, inaccordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment, a media device102, operating as a client, can receive and play media content providedby a media server 142 operating as a backend server system, or byanother system or peer device.

In accordance with various embodiments, the media device can be, forexample, a personal computer system, handheld entertainment device,tablet device, smartphone, television, audio speaker, in-carentertainment system, or other type of electronic or media device thatis adapted or able to prepare, control the presentation of, and/or playmedia content, for example, music, video, or television content.

In accordance with an embodiment, each of the media device and the mediaserver can include, respectively, one or more physical device orcomputer hardware resources 104, 144, such as one or more processors(CPU), physical memory, network components, or other types of hardwareresources.

Although, for purposes of illustration, a single media device and mediaserver are shown in FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment, aparticular media server can support the simultaneous use of a pluralityof client media devices.

Similarly, in accordance with an embodiment, a particular media devicecan be used to access media content, or switch between media streams,provided by a plurality of media servers.

In accordance with an embodiment, a media device can optionally includea user interface 106, which is adapted to display media options, forexample as an array of media tiles, thumbnails, or other format, and todetermine a user interaction or input. Selecting a particular mediaoption from the user interface, for example a particular media tile orthumbnail, can be recognized as a command by the user and/or the mediadevice, to the media server, to download, stream or otherwise provideaccess to a corresponding particular media content item.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media device can include a mediaapplication 108, together with an in-memory media content buffer 110,and media play logic 122, which controls the playback of media contentreceived from the media server, for playing either at a requestingclient device (i.e., a controlling device), or at a controlled clientdevice (i.e., a controlled device), in the manner of a remote control.

In accordance with an embodiment, a connected media environment firmwareor logic 120 enables the media device to participate within a connectedmedia environment, for example a Spotify Connect environment generallydescribed herein by way of illustration. In accordance with otherembodiments, other types of connected media environment firmware orlogic can support other types of connected media environment.

In accordance with various embodiments, the media application can beprovided, for example, as a user-installable software application (app),web application, or as another form of software component.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media content buffer enables aportion of particular media content items, or samples thereof, to bepre-buffered at a media device. For example, while media options arebeing prepared for display on the user interface as media tiles orthumbnails, their related media content received from the media servercan be pre-buffered at the same time, and cached within the mediacontent buffer at the client media device, for prompt and efficientplayback when required.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media server can be provided at acomputer system, including an operating system 146 or other processingenvironment which supports execution of a media server application 150that can be used, for example, to stream music, video, or other forms ofmedia content to a media device. The media server can provide asubscription-based media streaming service, for which a user or clientmedia device can have an associated account and credentials, whichenables that user's media device to communicate with and to receivemedia content from the media server, in the form of media-accessrequests.

In accordance with an embodiment, a media-access request received from aclient media device can include an identifying information, for examplea network address, which identifies a destination device to which themedia server should stream or otherwise provide access to media content,in response to processing that media-access request.

For example, a user may own several media devices, such as one or moresmartphones or audio speakers, which are adapted or able to prepare,control the presentation of, and/or play a media content received from amedia server.

In accordance with an embodiment, the identifying information providedwith a particular media-access request can include a media deviceidentifier, such as an Internet (IP) address, machine (MAC) address,device name, or other form of identification which identifies that aparticular media-access request is communicated by and/or is intendedfor use with, a particular destination device.

This allows a user, for example, to use a smartphone as a controllingdevice, and to indicate an audio speaker as a controlled device, towhich media content should be sent. In such example, the media servercan then send the requested media and/or forward the media-accessrequest to the audio speaker, to be further processed thereby, eventhough the request originated at the user's smartphone. A similarapproach can be used with other types of media device.

In accordance with an embodiment, a media application interface 148 atthe media server can receive requests from client media devices, or fromother systems, to retrieve media content from the media server.

In accordance with an embodiment, a context database 162 at the mediaserver can store data associated with the presentation of media contentby a particular client media device, such as, for example, a currentposition within a media stream that is being presented by that device,or a playlist associated with the media stream, or one or morepreviously-indicated user playback preferences. The media server cantransmit context information associated with a particular media stream,to a media device presenting that stream, so that the contextinformation can be further used by the media device, and/or displayed tothe user.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, when the destinationmedia device to which a particular media content is being streamedchanges—say, from one of a controlling device to a controlled device, orfrom a first controlled device to a second controlled device—then themedia server can transmit context information associated with an activemedia content stream, to the newly-appointed destination device, forsubsequent use by that newly-appointed device in playing or otherwiseaccessing the particular media content.

In accordance with an embodiment, a media content database 164 caninclude media content such as, for example, one or more music, songs,videos, movies, or other types of media content, together with ametadata describing that media content. As described below, inaccordance with an embodiment, the metadata can be used by the system toenable users, client media devices, and other entities, to search withinone or more repositories of media content, to locate particular mediacontent items. As further described below, in accordance with anembodiment, the metadata can also be used by the system to supportfeatures such as the providing of music-styled advertisement or othersponsor-directed content.

In accordance with an embodiment, an advertisement database 165 caninclude additional media content, for example advertisement or othersponsor-directed content, that can be similarly streamed or otherwiseprovided to a user's media device in conjunction with or as part of amedia content stream.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment in which the media contentdatabase and/or advertisement database can be provided within a samesystem as the media server and the media server application; inaccordance with other embodiments, the media content database andadvertisement database can be provided at a different system, such as atan associated database or third-party database, or at an external orthird-party media content or advertisement server.

In accordance with an embodiment, a media streaming logic 151 at themedia server can be used to retrieve or otherwise provide access tomedia content items, in response to requests from client media devicesor other systems.

In accordance with an embodiment, a targeting service 152 can be used,as further described below, to determine an appropriate advertisement orother sponsor-directed content, which is/are to be combined or otherwiseassociated with a particular stream or session of media contentplayback. The media streaming logic can then populate a media contentbuffer 181, at a media delivery module or stream service 153, withstreams 182, 184, 186 of corresponding media content data, includingadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content as appropriate, whichcan then be returned to the requesting media device, or to a controlleddevice.

In accordance with an embodiment, a plurality of client media devicesand media servers can communicate with one another using a network, forexample the Internet 190, a local area network, a peer-to-peerconnection, a wireless or cellular network, or other form of network.

In accordance with an embodiment, a user 192 can interact 194 with themedia application at a media device, for example using the userinterface, and issue requests to access media content, such as theplaying of a selected music or video item at their media device or at acontrolled device, or the streaming of a media channel or video streamto their media device or to a controlled device.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, the user's selection of aparticular media option can be communicated 196 to the media server, viaits media application interface. In response, the media server canpopulate 204 its media content buffer, with corresponding items ofmedia/sponsor-directed content 206, for example as one or more streamsof media content and/or advertisement or other sponsor-directed content.The media server can then communicate 208 the selected media content tothe user's media device, or to the controlled device as appropriate,where optionally it can be buffered (206′) in the media content buffer,for subsequent playing at the device.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a connected media environment, inaccordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, in accordance with an embodiment, a connected mediaenvironment 230, for example a Spotify Connect environment, can includeone or more routers 250 that enables communication between the connectedmedia environment and the one or more media devices therein, and a mediaserver.

Examples of the types of media device that can be provided within aconnected media environment include an audio speaker 232, television234, computer 236, smartphone 238, and in-car entertainment system 240,or other types of media device that can be used to stream, play, orotherwise access a particular media content.

In accordance with an embodiment, a media device having an applicationuser interface can act as a controlling device, to control 252 theplayback of media content at a controlled device. Each media device cancommunicate with a server-side access point, either for its own use inaccessing media content, and/or for use by other client media deviceswithin the connected media environment. In this manner, each accesspoint acts as a connection from one or more media devices to the backendmedia server.

As described above, in accordance with an embodiment, a controlleddevice can also include a media application, which in the case of anaudio speaker, television or similar device can be included eitherwithin the device itself, for example as a firmware logic, or within aseparate set-top box or other type of after-market device.

As also described above, in accordance with an embodiment, a user caninteract with the user interface at a client media device, and issuerequests to access media content, for example the playing of a selectedmusic or video item at the requesting device or at a controlled device,or the streaming of a media channel or video stream to the requestingdevice or to a controlled device.

For example, a user can request that media content be buffered, streamedor received for playing at a controlling client media device such as asmartphone, and simultaneously buffered, streamed or received forplaying at one or more controlled devices, such as an audio speaker.

As another example, the user can issue a media-access request to changea media channel for playback within their connected environment, inresponse to which the media server can switch the media channel at, say,a controlled device, and thereafter continue to stream or buffer mediacontent 256 for the switched channel, to that controlled device.

As described above, in some instances, a portion of the media contentcan be pre-buffered at the controlled device, which enables channelswitching at the controlled device to operate in a more seamless manner.

FIG. 3 further illustrates an example of a connected media environment,in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, in accordance with an embodiment, a user canutilize, for example, a smartphone in combination with an audio speaker,to issue a media-access request 275 from the smartphone to the mediaserver, for example to change a media channel at the audio speaker.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media-access request can bereceived by an appropriate access point, and communicated to the mediaserver as a request for media content 276. The media server can thenrespond by controlling the destination device, in this example the audiospeaker, to download, stream or otherwise provide access to the selectedmedia content 278.

As described above, in accordance with an embodiment, a media device,for example a smartphone as illustrated in FIG. 3, can communicate witha server-side access point, either for its own use in accessing mediacontent, and/or for use by other client media devices within theconnected media environment.

FIG. 4 further illustrates an example of a connected media environment,in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4, in accordance with an embodiment, client mediadevices within the connected media environment can access media contentprovided by a plurality of media servers 280, 286, each including amedia server application 281, 287, media delivery module or streamservice 282, 288, and media application interface 283, 289, as generallydescribed above.

As described above, in accordance with various embodiments, each clientmedia device can issue a media-access request 290, 292, to request mediacontent which can then be streamed or buffered 291, 293 at therequesting device, or at a controlled device.

As further described above, in accordance with various embodiments,media content, and advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, canbe provided within the same system as the media server and media serverapplication.

Alternatively, a media content database 296 and/or advertisementdatabase 298 can be provided at an associated database or third-partydatabase, or at an external/third-party media content or advertisementserver 295 that is accessible 299 to the media servers.

Music-Styled Content

In accordance with an embodiment, the system includes support forproviding music-styled advertisement or other sponsor-directed content.Metadata describes media content that can be streamed or otherwiseprovided to a user's media device. A media streaming logic and targetingservice analyzes a playing media content, and selects advertisements fordelivery in conjunction with that content. For example, the system candetermine a genre, tempo, or mood of music being streamed during asession, and select advertisements targeted to a style of music.Information associated with the user, for example their location, can beused to predict their mood, and select appropriate advertisements.Advertisements can also be selected based on an analysis of, forexample, a playlist description or a song lyrics.

In accordance with an embodiment, a media style repository can be usedto store analytical and/or descriptive metadata describing items ofmedia content, for use in determining both a style of media contentbeing accessed by, or otherwise provided to, a user, and an appropriateadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content.

In accordance with various embodiments, the media style repository canbe provided either within a memory or database of the media serveritself, or alternatively can be provided external to the media server atan associated database or third-party database.

In accordance with an embodiment, a media streaming logic, incombination with a targeting service, as described above, can use themetadata associated with a stream of media content, to determine anadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content which a user may findparticularly appealing.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, the media streaming logiccan be configured to select advertisements that appear most appropriateto a tempo, genre, mood, lyrics, or other characteristics of a mediacontent currently being provided in a media stream during a session by aparticular user.

By way of illustrative example, in accordance with an embodiment whichincludes streaming of music content, when a tempo metadata is known fora currently-playing music content, the tempo of the music selected byand currently being provided in a media stream to the user can bedetermined by the system in real time, or during a period of play.Alternatively, the music content can be pre-analyzed to determine itstempo, and the resultant analysis stored as a tempo metadata. Suchmetadata can be later used by the media streaming logic and targetingservice to select an advertisement or other sponsor-directed contentthat is most relevant to that music tempo.

Similarly, as another illustrative example, when a genre metadata, or amood metadata, is already known for a music content, the genre or moodof the music selected by and currently being provided in a media streamto the user can be determined by the system in real time, orpre-analyzed and its analysis stored as metadata that can be later usedby the media streaming logic and targeting service to select anadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content that is most relevant tothe genre or mood respectively of the streamed music.

Such analysis enables, for example, sponsor-directed content such asadvertisements, which seem most appropriate in style to the tempo,genre, or mood of the music selected by and currently being provided ina media stream to the user, to be selected by the system for injectionor insertion into the media stream.

In accordance with an embodiment, a cumulative tempo, genre, or mood ofthe media content items being streamed during a particular user sessioncan be used.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, during a particularsession that includes a selection of media content being streamed to theuser, the system can perform an analysis of the tempos, and any weightsassigned to the tempos, of the various music selections that the user isreceiving during that session. A cumulative tempo of the music can bedetermined as being applicable to that particular session. Appropriateadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content can then be determinedby the system and streamed during the particular session to the user, inaccordance with such cumulative analysis.

Similarly, in accordance with an embodiment, the cumulative genre ormood of the music streamed can be analyzed, and the result of suchanalysis can be used by the system to select an appropriateadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content.

In accordance with an embodiment, additional information associated witha particular user or their media device, for example their physicalgeographic location, can be used to predict the user's likely mood, andselect appropriate advertisements.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, information such as thecurrent weather at the geographic location associated with a mediadevice's Internet address receiving streamed media content, or otherlocation-related user information, can be analyzed and stored asadditional metadata, for use in selecting advertisement or othersponsor-directed content. Such location, weather, or other informationcan be used to select, for example, advertisements and/or additionalmusic which the system determines may be most relevant to that user.

In accordance with an embodiment, advertisement or othersponsor-directed content can also be selected based on an analysis ofkeywords within a playlist description, or within a song's lyrics.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, the text of playlistnames or descriptions can be searched, and keywords discovered by thesystem through an analysis of such searches can be used to targetadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content to be streamed to theuser.

Similarly, an analysis of the media stream can determine keywords and orlyrical information, such as the number of times a keyword is registeredwithin a particular period of time. When the system determines that thenumber of instances exceeds a certain number or threshold in a givensession, one or more appropriate contextual and relevant advertisementscan be streamed to the user.

FIG. 5 illustrates a system that supports selection of music-styledsponsor-directed content or advertisements, for insertion into a mediastream, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5, in accordance with an embodiment, a media device canbe used to request 302 media content from a media server, and to receivestreamed media content, including sponsor-directed content oradvertisements 304, as generally described above.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media server can include a mediastyle repository 307 that stores media content item metadata 308associated with different items of media content, for use in providingmusic-styled and/or contextual information about the media content.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, a media content itemmetadata can include, for a particular item of media content, ananalytic data 311, such as a tempo metadata 312, consonance metadata314, or pitch metadata 316, which describes those characteristics ofthat particular item of media content. In accordance with an embodiment,a media content item metadata can also include, for a particular item ofmedia content, a descriptive data 321, such as a genre metadata 322,mood metadata 324, lyrics metadata 326, keywords 328, or othercharacteristics of the particular item of media content.

As described in further detail below, the media streaming logic candetermine 330 an appropriate media content, such as sponsor-directedcontent or advertisements, for streaming within a particular session,including one or more items of media content 331 and sponsor-directedcontent, for example advertisements 332.

FIG. 6 illustrates a data collection environment, for use within asystem for selection of music-styled sponsor-directed content oradvertisements, in accordance with an embodiment.

As described above, in accordance with an embodiment, a connected mediaenvironment, for example a Spotify Connect environment, can include aserver-side access point that enables communication between theconnected media environment and a media server.

As shown in FIG. 6, in accordance with an embodiment, a data collectionenvironment 333 enables collection of usage data from one or moreconnected media environments, each including a client-side 334, and aserver-side 335 that provides access points 336. While the user uses amedia server within a regional media server environment 339, for exampleby interacting with a media content data storage 342, a playlistfunction 344, or a search function 346, to retrieve, play, stream, orotherwise access media content items, a usage data 338 can be collected.

In accordance with an embodiment, information regarding the usage datacan be communicated to a data processor 348 such as, for example, anApache Kafka instance. In accordance with other embodiments, other typesof data processor can be used.

FIG. 7 illustrates a data aggregation environment, for use within asystem for selection of music-styled advertisement or othersponsor-directed content, in accordance with an embodiment.

As described above, a data collection environment enables collection ofusage data from connected media environments and access points while theuser uses a media server to retrieve or otherwise access media contentitems. As shown in FIG. 7, in accordance with an embodiment, a dataaggregation environment 350 enables usage data to be aggregated at aparticular region (e.g., London 351) which includes a regional mediaserver environment for providing media content 352, and is capable ofreceiving usage data from other regional media server environmentsglobally (e.g., Stockholm 353, Ashburn 354, or San Jose 355).

In accordance with an embodiment, the system can use a global databroker 356 such as, for example, a Kafka instance, to broker the data toone or more data consumers 357 such as, for example, a Hadoop 358distributed storage environment, or a Storm message queue 359. Inaccordance with other embodiments, other types of data brokers and dataconsumers can be used.

FIG. 8 illustrates a data processing topology, for use within a systemfor selection of music-styled advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, in accordance with an embodiment, in a dataprocessing topology 360, a distributed real-time computation system,such as a Storm message queue, can be used to process streaming mediacontent data, for example through the use of spouts and bolts to defineinformation sources and manipulations that allow batch, distributedprocessing of streaming data.

In such a topology, each spout can read from a queuing broker, such as aKafka instance acting as a data broker as described above; while eachbolt can process a number of input streams and produce a number of newoutput streams, incorporating functions such as filters, streamingjoins, streaming aggregations, and communication with databases.

For example, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a Kafka spout361 can be configured to stream data to an endsong filter bolt 362,which is configured to discard certain data tuples, for example thosethat are too short, those of certain platforms, local tracks, and thoseof certain regions.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a metadata pull bolt 363 canbe configured to obtain metadata for a streaming media content (forexample, using a tuple.getStringByField(“trackURI”)), append fields inan output tuple, and output data to a metadata store 364, (using anoutputFieldsDeclarer.declareStream(“genres”, new Fields (“username”,“genre”)).

In accordance with an embodiment, a user genre bolt 365 can beconfigured to emit a top genre for the user for each event, includingmaintaining a weighted genre map. a MemCached bolt 366 processes thestream, and a user genre 367 can be stored, for example, as metadata fora particular session.

Such functionality can be used as described above, to determine thegenre or mood of the music selected by and currently being provided in amedia stream to the user, either in real time, or by pre-analysis, sothat its metadata can be later used by the media streaming logic andtargeting service to select an advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent that is most relevant to that genre or mood respectively.Similar functionality can be performed to determine mood, tempo, orother data that may be useful in characterizing a particular mediacontent.

Although the above example illustrates the use of Kafka, Storm andHadoop, to process large amounts of usage data, in accordance withvarious embodiments, other forms of data processors can be used.

FIG. 9 illustrates a content targeting architecture, for use within asystem for selection of music-styled sponsor-directed content oradvertisements, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, in accordance with an embodiment, in a contenttargeting architecture 370, a client 371, which can be the mediastreaming logic, or another entity within the media server, can accessthe targeting service 372 to obtain the context of a particular user. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the targeting service can access aregistration data store 373 and an activity store 375 to obtain thecontext for the particular user. The context can be then returned to therequestor (which again can be the media stream logic, or another entitywithin the media server acting as a client), which determines anappropriate advertisement or other sponsor-directed content. Therequestor/client can then fetch the advertisement from an advertisementserver 376.

In accordance with an embodiment, the system can be used to supportdelivery of media content that is made free-of-charge through theinsertion of advertisements into the streams of media content.

The marketable value of such inserted advertisements generally dependson their appeal to a particular user. For example, advertisements forproducts that may potentially appeal to a user may be “tuned out” bythat same user if the advertisements interrupt, or otherwise interferewith the user's overall listening and/or viewing experience. Similarly,advertisements can interfere with a user's experience by advertisingproducts and/or services that are not relevant to the user, that are nottargeted at an appropriate time, and/or that are delivered in a stylethat is otherwise incongruent with listening experience of the user.

In accordance with various embodiments, the system can be used toprovide advertisement or other sponsor-directed content that the systemdetermines have some particular relevance to the user and/or to themedia context which the user is receiving. The media server can thenselect, insert, and deliver additional sponsor-directed content, such asadvertisements, based on music-styled and/or contextual informationembedded in, and/or related to the user selected media context.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, an advertisement can beselected for a product having an appropriate volume and energy level.Different advertisements of varying energy level, each advertising thesame product, can be further chosen based, for example, on the genre ofthe music consumed.

In accordance with an embodiment, a metadata gathered in connection witha media content, for example a piece of music, can include measurablesin the style, content and context of the user-selected music itself.

A user's experience with a music media content can be affected bycertain fundamental concepts such as music styles associated with music.For example, a user's heart rate and/or energy level can be affected byqualities of the music that the user is listening to, such as, forexample, the tempo, consonance, pitch, and texture of the music. Suchmusic styles or qualities as tempo, consonance, pitch and texture canalso be analyzed and stored as analytical data in the form of metadatain the media style repository.

As another example, a user may request music to be streamed that couldalter the state of the user. For example, the user may select a highertempo, bass-heavy music to help them prepare for a football game or toprepare for a night out on the town.

Alternatively, or additionally, the qualities of the music selected canbe affected by the state of the user, rather than affecting the state ofthe user. For example, a user that is exercising at a gym can selectmusic that complements, for example, the user's running pace while theuser is working out.

In accordance with an embodiment, qualities of a played music can leadto an inference of the activity that a user is engaged in, and anappropriate sponsor-directed content or advertisement can be selectedand inserted accordingly. For example, if the music streaming isdetermined in real-time to be high tempo, or is known to be associatedwith exercise, it can be inferred that the user is working out orengaged in a physical activity, and sponsor-directed content can beselected and served that is similarly fast-paced. As another example, asponsor-directed content such as a product advertisement, can beselected to appeal to someone working out, such as a sports energy drinkor sports equipment.

Additionally, a user's interest and/or engagement in advertisement orother sponsor-directed content for products and/or services can be basedon inference of the user's activity from the music, one or morequalities of the music and the appeal of such music and qualities tousers who participate in such activities. An inference, based on themusic and the qualities of the music that the user listens to, can bemade to the type of activity that the user is participating in, and fromthere to the type of sponsored content that would likely be of interestand engaging to the user.

In any of the above scenarios, a user's interest and/or engagement inadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content inserted into a musicstream can benefit from selection of content that complements thestreamed media content, in one or more qualities; and can also benefitfrom selection of content that targets an activity in which the user isengaged.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary advertisement weighting and selection,for use within a system for selection of music-styled sponsor-directedcontent or advertisements, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown, in FIG. 10, in accordance with an embodiment, advertisementweighting and selection criteria 380 can be used to determine thesubject matter of a selected advertisement 381, and the style of aselected advertisement 382.

In accordance with an embodiment, where the sponsor-directed content isan advertisement (or a plurality of advertisements), each advertisementis selected for both subject matter and style. As shown, the relativesizes of circles represent the relative weighting given to the qualitydescribed by the metadata.

For example, when the subject matter of an advertisement is selected,more weight can be given to user profile and device context, with lesserweight given to genre, tempo, keywords and lyrics. Subject matter for auser who has been known to respond to advertisements for local events(as determined by their user profile) can be selected based on thisinformation. If local events are chosen as the subject matter, the mediadevice context can determine those events that are local to the user,thereby narrowing the pool of available advertisements. Advertisementsfor the same subject matter can be made available in different styles tomatch the media content item. The selection of style for anadvertisement can be chosen with different emphasis of qualities.

For example, in a particular implementation, it may be decided thattempo and device context are more heavily weighted than genre, mood anduser profile. Where the sponsor-directed content is an advertisement, ora plurality of advertisements, each advertisement can be selected at forboth subject matter and style.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the relative sizes of circles can represent arelative weighting given to the quality described by the metadata. Forexample, when the subject matter of an advertisement is selected, moreweight can be given to tempo and genre, with lesser weight given tokeywords and lyrics.

As another example, subject matter for an up-tempo media content itemfrom a genre associated with workouts (e.g., hip hop) could include, byway of example only, energy/recovery drinks, workout equipment such asshoes and clothes, and fast food advertisement focusing on the healthymenu options available.

In accordance with an embodiment, advertisements for the same subjectmatter can be available in different styles to match the media contentitem. The selection of style for an advertisement can be chosen withdifferent emphasis of qualities. In this example, tempo and mood may bemore heavily weighted than genre.

In accordance with an embodiment, advertisement or othersponsor-directed content can be selected based on data gathered aboutthe user. For example, where the media content is music, the datagathered about the user can include measurables of the music itself,such as the genre of music typically listened to by the user and thetempo of the music typically listened to by the user. Advertisement orother sponsor-directed content can be served that are relevant to thetempo of the music that the user has been streaming. For example, if auser listens to music that is typically down-tempo, then a large portionof the time that the user streams media, an advertisement can beselected having a lower volume and energy level. Different energyadvertisements for the same product can also be chosen based on thetempo of the music consumed.

In accordance with an embodiment, a usage data gathered as describedabove can vary in time. For example, in accordance with an embodiment,advertisement or other sponsor-directed content can be selected based onthe entire streaming history of a user, or alternatively, advertisementscan be selected based on a recent streaming history of the user.Advertisement or other sponsor-directed content can also be selectedbased on an analysis of the tempo metadata of the music being streamedin real-time, by algorithmically determining the general tempo of themusic in the session. Those advertisements that are most relevant to thetempo of the music can be selected and inserted into the session.

In accordance with an embodiment, advertisement or othersponsor-directed content can be served that is relevant to the genre ofthe music the user has been streaming.

For example, the weighted genre of the music being streamed can beanalyzed in real-time, and sponsor-directed content can bealgorithmically determined based on the general genre theme of the musicin that session. Advertisements can be selected and inserted into thesession that are most relevant to the genre of the music.

As another example, if a user listens to classical music and easylistening music a large portion of the time that the user streams media,then an advertisement can be selected for a product typically consumedby the typical listener of classical music and easy listening music,such as a luxury-brand automobile, or a fine wine. Alternatively, it maybe decided that a loud advertisement, such as for a sports energy drink,would be inappropriate, because the user is in a context where thatadvertisement does not make sense.

An advertisement can also be selected for a product having appropriatevolume and energy level. For example, an advertisement can be selectedhaving a lower volume and energy level. As above, different energyadvertisement for the same product can also be chosen based on the genreof the music consumed.

In accordance with an embodiment, advertisement or othersponsor-directed content can be selected and served that is relevant tothe mood of the music the user has been streaming. For example, the moodmetadata of the music being streamed can be analyzed in real-time, andsponsor-directed content can be algorithmically determined based on themood of the music in that session.

In accordance with an embodiment, advertisement or othersponsor-directed content can be selected and served in response to thereal-time weather data of the location of the user as identified by theIP address of the location to which content is being streamed.Sponsor-directed content can be algorithmically determined based on theweather. The sponsor-directed content can be related to weather itself,for example, a sunny summer location could be an opportunity to promotesunscreen or other such products. Additionally, the sponsor-directedcontent can be related to a mood of the user inferred by the weatheritself. For example, if the weather is stormy, sponsor-directed contentcan be selected and served for that session that assumes a downbeat orgloomy mood of the user.

In accordance with an embodiment, advertisement or othersponsor-directed content can be selected and served in response to aninference of the activity that a user is engaged in. For example, if themusic streaming is determined in real-time to be high tempo, orassociated with exercise, it can be inferred that the user is workingout or engaged in a physical activity, and sponsor-directed content canbe selected and served to is not slow in pace. Sponsor-directed content,where it is a product advertisement, can be selected to appeal tosomeone working out, such as a sports energy drink.

In accordance with an embodiment, location data can be used to selectand serve advertisement or other sponsor-directed content. For example,if the user is determined to be in the Mojave Desert, thensponsor-directed content relevant to that context can be used. Asanother example, if an IP address of a Wi-Fi router is determined tobelong to a gym, then sponsor-directed content can be selected andserved related to exercise and fitness.

In accordance with an embodiment, real-time signals inferring mood oractivity, can be used along with the profile constructed for the user'slisting history and used together to identify appropriate advertisementor other sponsor-directed content. For example, users can be identifiedwith an audience who are sports enthusiasts based on listening patterns,and sponsor-directed content can be targeted based on the audience thatthe user is identified with.

In accordance with an embodiment, advertisement or othersponsor-directed content can be selected and served that is targeted tokeywords using the lyrical information of the music the user has beenstreaming. Lyrics of the music being streamed can be analyzed inreal-time and advertisements can be selected and served to the userbased on keywords searches using the lyrics. For example, a user maylisten to audio with lyrics that contain the keyword “car” or “love”. Ifthe keyword is registered a certain number (x) times in a given timeframe, then the system can add that user (temporarily) to a targetablesegment that can be served contextual ads.

In accordance with an embodiment, keyword searches can also be used forentered text for playlist names or descriptions. For example, if aparticular keyword is found in the user's playlist title such as“party”, then that particular keyword can then be targeted foradvertisements.

As described above, a profile can be generated for the user. Forexample, in addition to the signals described, other signals obtained bythe content provider can be included in a user's listening history.Based on this history, base user profiles can be constructed for eachuser, for example describing the genres that the user likes to stream.

In addition to those described above, in accordance with an embodiment,other patterns can be determined from the user's history. For example,the user may listen to specific genres, or may explore new music. Theprofile can indicate the user's desire to discover or seek out differentmusic, or can indicate that the user tends to listen to the same typesof music, or even the same albums/artists, for example. The profile canalso indicate whether the user follows trends, for example hot ortrending tracks.

In accordance with an embodiment, actions taken by the user within themedia application, or actions taken on the media device on which thesoftware application is running can also be used to determine thecontext of the user and/or the relevance of sponsor-directed content tothe user and/or determine that the user is irritated by sponsor-directedcontent.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, the media application candetermine that the user starts skipping ads, or that the user tries tolower the volume of the sponsor-directed content, either by means oftheir software application, or using buttons of the device. Such signalscan indicate the relevance of the sponsor-directed content to the user.Certain actions taken by the user during sponsor-directed content canrepresent a negative signal that can be used by the system in real-timeto improve the sponsor-directed content that is selected for the user.

In accordance with an embodiment, quality scores based on implicitpositive and negative signals can be used to attempt to optimize theuser's experience. For example, negative signals such as volumedecreases, application focus changes, advertisement minimizations,attempted skips, application exits, can be collected and weighted.Positive signals such as click-to rate, audio/video completion rate, andthe like can also be collected and weighted.

In accordance with an embodiment, both positive and negative signals canthen be combined and an overall quality score can be obtained, allowingthe server to quantify gains to relevancy and user experience. Userexperience data can continue to be collected, to iteratively refine thesponsor-directed content selection, in a feedback loop.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary user/device information, for use withina system for selection of music-styled sponsor-directed content oradvertisements, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, in accordance with an embodiment, a user/deviceinformation 383 can include a user profile information 384, and a mediadevice context 385. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of contents of a userprofile and a metadata profile for media device content for use inselecting advertisements and/or other media that have a likelihood ofbeing of interest to the user.

In accordance with an embodiment, as the location of the media deviceand user changes the user profile, the user profile can be updated withnew location information using IP address and GPS capabilities. A userprofile can be continuously generated and modified. For example, inaddition to the data described, other data can be obtained from theuser's listening history. Based on this history, profiles can beconstructed for each user, for example describing the genres that theuser likes to stream.

For example, as illustrated in the figure, a username SF_Mike definesthe user for which the data has been aggregated. Data can fall into oneor more categories, such as, for example “subject matter of adsinteracted with by frequency”, “Genre of media content streamed byfrequency”, “biographical detail” and “interests”.

In accordance with other embodiment, different categories can be used toselect different aspects of sponsor-directed content. For example, a“subject matter of ads interacted with by frequency” can be used toselect a subject matter of an advertisement, while a “genre of mediacontent streamed by frequency” can be used to select a style of anadvertisement. Other categories, such as “biographical detail” and“interests” can also influence one or both of subject matter and style.

In accordance with an embodiment, each of the categories can influenceboth subject matter and style. For example, if a user listens toclassical music and easy listening music a large portion of the timethat the user streams media, then an advertisement can be selected for aproduct typically consumed by the typical listener of classical musicand easy listening music, for example a luxury-brand automobile, or afine wine. Such information can be obtained from third-party researchcompanies.

As another example, if a user requests music that is typicallydown-tempo, then a large portion of the time that the user streamsmedia, an advertisement can be selected having a lower volume and energylevel. Different energy advertisements for the same product can also bechosen based on the tempo of the music consumed.

In accordance with an embodiment, real-time music relating mood oractivity, can be collected along with the profile constructed for theuser's listening history and used together to identify appropriatesponsor-directed content. For example, users can be identified with anaudience who are sports enthusiasts based on listening patterns, andsponsor-directed content can be targeted based on the audience that theuser is identified with.

In addition to those described above, in accordance with an embodiment,other patterns can be determined from the user's or user's history. Forexample, the user may listen to specific genres, or may explore newmusic. The user profile can indicate the user's desire to discover orseek out different music, or can indicate that the user tends to listento the same types of music, or even the same albums/artists, forexample. The profile can also indicate whether the user follows trends.

For example, a metadata profile for a media device context can includethe username of the logged-in user, so that the two profiles can be tiedtogether, and can further include categories related to a context of themedia device, for example categories including “Location Context”,“History of use of the device” and “Device Detail”. A device which maytypically lack GPS or other geographic positioning technology (e.g., anaudio speaker) can be location tagged by other connected devices whichdo include GPS or other geographic positioning technology and which areusing the device for media streaming.

With respect to location context, a sponsor-directed content can beselected and served in response to the real-time weather data of thelocation of the user as identified by the IP address and/or GPS addressof the location to which content is being streamed.

For example, sponsor-directed content can be determined based on theweather. The sponsor-directed content can be related to weather itself,for example, a sunny summer location could be an opportunity to promotesunscreen or other such products. Alternatively, or additionally, thesponsor-directed content can be related to a mood of the user inferredby the weather itself. For example, if the weather is stormy,sponsor-directed content can be selected and served for that sessionthat assumes a downbeat or gloomy mood of the user.

In accordance with an embodiment, location data can be used to selectand serve sponsor-directed content. For example, if the user isdetermined to be in a geographic region known to have a particularclimate, such as a dry or desert region, then sponsor-directed contentrelevant to that context, and that particular climate, can be used. Asanother example, if an IP address of a Wi-Fi router is determined tobelong to a gym, then a sponsor-directed content can be selected andserved based on that information.

With respect to device details, if the media device is a certainmanufacturer make or model, sponsor-directed content can be selectedfrom those manufacturers, or alternatively sponsor-directed content canbe selected that is not related to the manufactures, but that targetsproducts and/or services that are typically of interest to users thatuse those manufacturer makes and models of media devices. Profiles ofuser interests can be compiled for individual media devices, for use indetermining sponsor-directed content, or for use as one component ofmany for determining sponsor-directed content.

In accordance with an embodiment, the metadata gathered about mediacontent, for example music, can further include descriptive data of themusic itself. A user's excitement level, or engagement level, can beaffected by the genre, the mood, or the lyrics of a piece of music. Forexample, if a piece of music is more familiar to a user, the user maysing along or become more engaged with the music. If the user feels acertain connection with the lyrics or mood of the music, the user canbecome more engaged with the music. Keywords can likewise be associatedwith the music if that music pertains to certain activities or is knownto trigger certain responses in users. The descriptive data of mediacontent item(s) can also be described in metadata that can be associatedwith the media content item(s) and can be stored in the media stylerepository.

A user's interest and/or engagement in an advertisement inserted into amusic stream can benefit from selection of an advertisement for aproduct and/or service that is likely to be popular with users wholisten to music of a certain genre or mood.

For example, a user that requests a media content item that comprisesclassical music, may be found through market research to generallyprefer to purchase certain types of automobiles. A user selection forclassical music may prompt the media streaming logic of the media serverto follow the media content by inserting an advertisement for certainautomobiles that includes classical music playing as background music.

As another example, a user request for a media content item withevocative lyrics, about an automobile, may prompt the media streaminglogic of the media server to follow the media content by inserting anadvertisement for an automobile, or for a local classic car show. Lyricsof the music being streamed can also be analyzed in real-time andsponsor-directed content can be selected and served to the user based onkeywords searches using the lyrics. For example, a user may listen toaudio with lyrics that contain the keyword “car” or “love”.” If thatkeyword is registered a certain number of times in a given time frame,then the system can add that user (temporarily) to a targetable segmentthat can be served related contextual ads.

As another example, a user's request for a media content item with anostalgic mood, may prompt the media streaming logic of the media serverto follow the media content by inserting sponsor-directed contentidentified as appealing to a sense of nostalgia.

FIG. 12 further illustrates a system that supports selection ofmusic-styled sponsor-directed content or advertisements, for insertioninto a media stream, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 12, in accordance with an embodiment, the media servercan select, insert and deliver additional content, such asadvertisements and sponsor media based on not only music styled and/orcontextual information about the user selected media content, but alsoone or both of the particular user, and the particular media device,including determining for a user session 386 and currently playing mediacontent 387 an advertisement weighting and selection, and use/deviceinformation, and currently-playing media content for all or a portion ofthe session, and session-related information 388 from the media stylerepository.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media server comprises a userprofile database containing information about the user, and can furtherinteract with one or more external/third-party media content oradvertisement server 389 having an advertisement database 390.

FIG. 13 illustrates a method for selection of music-styledsponsor-directed content or advertisements, for insertion into a mediastream, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 13, in accordance with an embodiment, at step 391, amedia style repository which includes metadata describing media contentthat can be streamed or otherwise provided to the media device,including one or more of a genre, tempo, or mood associated withdifferent items of media content, is provided.

At step 393, media content is streamed or otherwise provided to a mediadevice which enables display and/or playback of media options, whereineach media option is associated with one or more media content itemsthat can be streamed to and/or played on the media device.

At step 394, during a period of media play time (e.g., X minutes),metadata associated with a currently-playing media content is utilizedto determine a media style for a current session.

At step 396, sponsor-directed content, e.g., advertisements, areselected to be delivered in conjunction with the currently-playing mediacontent, or within the current session, according to the determinedmedia style.

At step 397, sponsor-directed content, e.g., advertisements, arestreamed or otherwise provided to the media device.

At step 398, a period of media play time is reset, and the streaming orotherwise providing of media content to the media device continues.

In accordance with an embodiment, the system can stream media contentfor some period of time or session. When the stream time exceeds someamount of minutes (e.g., x minutes), the media server can be prompted toselect and insert the sponsor-directed content into the stream. Themedia server can obtain metadata related to the just-streamed mediacontent from the media style repository for use by the media streaminglogic, which selects sponsor-directed content (e.g., one or moreadvertisements) to stream based on the obtained metadata.

In accordance with an embodiment, the weighted genre of the music beingstreamed can be analyzed in real-time, and sponsor-directed content canbe determined based on the general genre theme of the music in thatsession. Advertisements can be selected and inserted into the sessionthat are most relevant to the genre of the music. Once selected, thesponsor-directed content is streamed to the media device that requestedthe previous media content. After the sponsor-directed content has beendelivered and consumed, the next media content items are streamed andthe method is repeated. The obtained metadata can be purged and the timeuntil the next break for sponsor-directed content can be reset.

In accordance with an embodiment, for each streamed media content item,metadata is obtained from the media style repository for use by themedia streaming logic. Sponsor-directed content is determined by themedia streaming logic based on aggregate obtained metadata. If thestream time does not exceed some amount of minutes (e.g., x minutes),the next media content item is streamed and the media streaming logicdetermines if additional or substitute sponsor-directed content shouldbe selected and inserted into the stream based on the new aggregation ofmetadata that includes the metadata from the additional media contentitem. When the stream time exceeds some amount of minutes (e.g., xminutes), the updated determination of sponsor-directed content isstreamed to the media device that requested the previous media content.After the sponsor-directed content has been delivered and consumed, thenext media content items are streamed and the method is repeated. Theobtained metadata can be purged and the time until the next break forsponsor-directed content can be reset.

In accordance with an embodiment, sponsor-directed content can beselected based on an analysis of the tempo metadata of the music beingstreamed in real-time, by determining the general tempo of the music inthe session. Those advertisements that are most relevant to the tempo ofthe music can be selected and inserted into the session. However,gathered metadata used can vary in time. For example, in accordance withan embodiment, advertisements can be selected based on the entirestreaming history of a user, or alternatively, can be selected based onthe recent streaming history of the user.

In accordance with an embodiment, rather than weighting differentqualities of the media content, the priority of different qualities canbe used to narrow down options for sponsor-directed content.

For example, a pool of advertisements can be narrowed by first selectingthe highest priority quality. Where the highest priority quality isgenre, an advertisement decision can narrow the pool of availableadvertisements by excluding all advertisements that do not fall underthe genre.

The advertisement decision can then narrow the pool of availableadvertisements using the next highest priority quality, for exampleexcluding all advertisements that do not include certain keywords.

The advertisement decision can then narrow the pool of availableadvertisements using the next highest priority quality, for exampleexcluding advertisements based on tempo.

The advertisement decision can then narrow the pool of availableadvertisements using the next highest priority quality, for example byexcluding advertisements based on music pitch.

After all relevant qualities have been used to narrow the pool ofavailable advertisements, an advertisement from the remaining set ofadvertisements can be selected and delivered to a media device thatrequested the media content of the media stream.

In accordance with an embodiment, a user's profile can be accessed toobtain information about the user. Context data for the media devicerequesting media content can then be obtained. The context data can beobtained based on the nature of the media device requesting mediacontent or based on a location of the media device. The location of themedia device can be used to obtain, for example, weather information atthe location of the media device, or local events close to the mediadevice, proximity to sponsors relative to the media device.Additionally, as the location of the media device and the user changes,the user profile can be updated with the new location using IP addressand GPS capabilities.

Information about the type of media device itself can be helpful. Forexample, whether the media device is a mobile device, or a fixed device(for example, a desktop or home entertainment center) can be of use forthe selection of sponsor media and advertisements. In accordance with anembodiment, this information can be obtained by one or more externaldatabases. As this information is obtained, the media content can bestreamed to the requesting media device or some period of time. When thestream time exceeds some amount of minutes (e.g., x minutes), the mediaserver is prompted to select and insert the sponsor-directed contentinto the stream. The media server obtains metadata related to thejust-streamed media content from the media style repository. The serverselects sponsor-directed content or advertisements based on the userprofile, media device context data and the obtained metadata. Thesponsor-directed content is streamed to the media device that requestedthe previous media content. After the sponsor-directed content has beendelivered and consumed, the next media content items are streamed andthe method is repeated. The obtained metadata can be purged and the timeuntil the next break for sponsor-directed content can be reset.

In accordance with an embodiment, a system is described for deliveringadvertisements associated with styles of media content, comprising amedia server including a microprocessor, and a media server applicationexecuting thereon and adapted to receive requests from media devices formedia content; a media streaming logic adapted to provide the mediacontent in response to the requests from the media devices; a mediastyle repository that stores one or more analytical and descriptive datadescribing the media content to be provided to the media devices; and atargeting logic which selects an advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent to be delivered in conjunction with particular items of mediacontent, based at least partly on the analytical and descriptive dataassociated with those particular items of media content.

In accordance with an embodiment, the system supports a methodcomprising providing, at a media server including a microprocessor, amedia server application executing thereon and adapted to receiverequests from media devices for media content; providing a mediastreaming logic adapted to provide the media content in response to therequests from the media devices; providing a media style repository thatstores one or more analytical and descriptive data describing the mediacontent to be provided to the media devices; and selecting anadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content to delivered inconjunction with particular items of media content, based at leastpartly on the analytical and descriptive data associated with thoseparticular items of media content.

In accordance with an embodiment, the analytical and descriptive datathat is stored in the media style repository includes metadatadescribing one or more of a tempo, consonance, pitch, texture, genre,mood, lyrics, and keywords of the media content to be provided to themedia devices, and is used by the media server to determine a style ofmedia content being streamed or otherwise provided to a media deviceduring a session.

In accordance with an embodiment, a user is associated with a userprofile that is used by the media server application in selecting aparticular advertisement or other sponsor-directed content.

In accordance with an embodiment, a media device is associated with amedia device context, including information identifying a location ofthe media device that is updated as the location changes.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media server is adapted tocoordinate the location of a media device and user thereof, withinformation describing one or more events, places, and environmentalconditions in proximity to the media device and the user, for use inselecting a particular advertisement or other sponsor-directed content.

In accordance with an embodiment, at least some of the one or moreanalytical and descriptive data describing the media content is providedby a third-party provider.

Watch-Now Functionality

In accordance with an embodiment, the system includes support forwatch-now functionality. A media play logic at a media device controlsplayback of media content and advertisements as received from a mediaserver, and can be configured for regular media play, or extended mediaplay. Periodically, for example when input is received from a user toskip to a next media option for playback, the user can be prompted towatch an advertisement, in return for extended media play. Uponreceiving an election by the user to watch the advertisement in returnfor extended media play, the media application plays the advertisement,and configures the media play logic for an extended period ofadvertisement-free media play.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, when an offered andelected advertisement has been viewed in its entirety, users may enjoy a60 minute long extended media play period of no-advertisements.Alternatively, if the user elects to not view the offered advertisement,the media play logic can be configured for regular media play, forexample by playing an advertisement every 15 minutes.

In accordance with an embodiment, during playing of an advertisement, auser can continue to navigate the media player interface, byminimizing/hiding the advertisement. Users can also configure theirmedia application to always play the longer advertisements.

FIG. 14 illustrates a system that supports watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 14, and as described above, in accordance with variousembodiments, the media device can be, for example, a personal computersystem, handheld entertainment device, tablet device, smartphone,television, audio speaker, in-car entertainment system, or other type ofelectronic or media device that is adapted or able to prepare, controlthe presentation of, and/or play media content, for example, music,video, or television content. Each of the media device and the mediaserver can include, respectively, one or more physical device orcomputer hardware resources, such as one or more processors, physicalmemory, network components, or other types of hardware resources. Amedia device can optionally include a user interface, which is adaptedto display media options, and to determine a user interaction or input.The media device can also include a media application and media playlogic which controls the playback of media content received from themedia server, for playing either at a requesting client device, or at acontrolled client device. A user can interact with the media applicationat a media device, for example using the user interface, and issuerequests to access media content, such as the playing of a selectedmusic or video item at their media device or at a controlled device, orthe streaming of a media channel or video stream to their media deviceor to a controlled device.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media server application can beused to stream music, songs, video, or other forms of media content, tomedia devices. A media stream service can prepare media content forstreaming to one or more streams. A media application interface canreceive requests from media devices to retrieve media content from themedia server. Media content items and/or samples associated therewithcan be provided within a database or repository, or received at themedia server from another source. Advertisements, which can be injectedinto media streams, can also be provided within a database orrepository, or received at the media server from another source. A mediastreaming logic can be used to retrieve or otherwise access the mediacontent items and advertisements, in response to requests from mediadevices, and populate streams with corresponding media content andadvertisement data that can be returned to the requesting device.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media device can include a userinterface, which displays a menu area 446, media play area 448, andcontrol area 450, and which is adapted to display media options anddetermine user inputs to, e.g., select, play, pause, or skip aparticular media option. Selecting a particular media option 451 can beused as a request or instruction to the media server application tostream 452 or otherwise return a corresponding particular item of mediacontent for playback on the media device.

For example, in accordance with various embodiments, the media servercan stream or otherwise communicate music, video, or other forms ofmedia content to the media device in response to user selections.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media device can include a mediaapplication, together with a media play logic, which can be provided,for example as an installable software application or app, andthereafter used to control the playback of media content items receivedfrom the media server application. In accordance with an embodiment, themedia play logic can be configured for regular media play, or extendedmedia play.

In accordance with an embodiment, a user can interact with the userinterface and issue requests, for example the playing of a selectedmusic or video item on their media device. The user's selection of aparticular media option can be communicated to the media serverapplication, e.g., via the Internet or other form of networkcommunication. The media server application can then streamcorresponding media and/or advertising content as one or more streams,to the media device, for playback to the user.

In accordance with an embodiment, streaming media can be implementedeither as real-time on-demand transfer of media content, where only aleast amount of needed bytes are transferred to the client exactly atthe right time; or as progressive downloaded where parts of the mediaare downloaded in advance in any order and are eventually completelycached on the client.

In accordance with an embodiment, when an input is received from a userto skip to a next media option for play, the user can be prompted towatch or listen to an advertisement now, in return for extended mediaplay.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, the offered advertisementcan be a longer advertisement than would typically be injected into themedia stream. Upon receiving an election by the user to watch anadvertisement now, in return for extended media play, the mediaapplication plays the advertisement, and then skips to the next mediaoption for play, and configures the media play logic for extended mediaplay. Accordingly, the user can manually select between the options ofregular media play and extended media play. With regular media play theuser may experience an advertisement at shorter media playbackintervals, such as for example every fifteen minutes. With extendedmedia play the user may experience an advertisement at longer media playintervals, such as for example every hour.

Additionally, in accordance with an embodiment, the user may select anoption that the user automatically opts-in for the extended media playwith the longer advertisements presented between longer intervals ofmedia playback.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, when an offered andelected advertisement has been viewed or listened to in its entirety,users may enjoy a 60 minute long extended media play period ofno-advertisements.

Alternatively, in accordance with an embodiment, if the user elects tonot view the advertisement, the media play logic can be configured forregular media play, for example by playing an advertisement every 15minutes. In accordance with an embodiment, during playing of anadvertisement, a user can continue to navigate the media playerinterface, by minimizing/hiding the advertisement. Users can alsoconfigure their media application to always play the longeradvertisements.

FIG. 15 illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, in accordance withan embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 15, a media device with a user interface is providedwhich enables the display of media options in a mediaoption/advertisement area 460, wherein each media option is associatedwith one or more media content items that can be streamed to and/orplayed on the media device.

FIG. 16 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 16, a user can interact 465 with the user interface andissue requests, for example the playing of a selected music or videoitem on their media device. In response, the system can stream 468 anappropriate media option (e.g., media option A 470), and configure themedia play logic for regular media play.

FIG. 17 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 17, a user can provide an input 472, e.g., to skip to anext media option for playback.

FIG. 18 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 18, when an input is received from a user to skip to anext media option for playback, the user can be prompted 480 to watch anadvertisement 482 now, in return for extended media play. For example,the offered advertisement can be a longer advertisement than wouldtypically be injected into the media stream. A user can minimize 484, orselect 486 the option, or otherwise elect to watch an advertisement now,in return for extended media play.

FIG. 19 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 19, in accordance with an embodiment, during theplaying 488 of an advertisement, a user can continue to navigate themedia player interface, by minimizing/hiding 489 the advertisement.Users can also configure their media application to always play thelonger advertisements.

FIG. 20 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 20, in accordance with an embodiment, the playingadvertisement can be minimized or hidden to an area 490 of theinterface, allowing the user to continue to navigate the media playerinterface. In accordance with an embodiment, it is possible to use longaudio advertisements, with or without a still picture, instead of avideo advertisement.

FIG. 21 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 21, upon completion of the playback of theadvertisement, the user can be presented with a transition message 492.In accordance with an embodiment, the user can elect to always receivethe long advertisements by turning long advertisements “ON” 493. Usingthe above example, in an hour the user will receive another longadvertisement automatically.

FIG. 22 further illustrates a use of watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 22, upon completion of the playback of theadvertisement, the system can then skip to the next media option forplayback (e.g., media option B 496), and configure 498 the media playlogic for extended media play.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, when an electedadvertisement has been viewed in its entirety, users may enjoy a 60minute long extended media play period of no-advertisements; instead ofa regular media play that plays, for example, an advertisement every 15minutes.

FIG. 23 illustrates a method for providing watch-now functionality, inaccordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 23, at step 502, a media device with a user interfaceis provided which enables the display of media options, wherein eachmedia option is associated with one or more media content items that canbe streamed to and/or played on the media device.

At step, 504, a media application, together with a media play logic, forexample as an installable software application or app, is provided tocontrol the playback of media content items received from a media serverapplication, wherein the media play logic can be configured for regularmedia play, or extended media play.

At step 506, input is received from a user, at the user interface, toskip to a next media option for playback.

At step 508, the user is prompted to watch an advertisement now, inreturn for extended media play. For example, the advertisement can be alonger advertisement than would typically be injected into the mediastream.

At step 510, upon receiving an election by the user to watch anadvertisement now, in return for extended media play, the mediaapplication plays the advertisement, and then skips to the next mediaoption for playback, and configures the media play logic for extendedmedia play.

In accordance with an embodiment, a system is described for providingmedia content including watch-now functionality, comprising a mediadevice including a microprocessor; a user interface adapted to displaymedia options corresponding to items of media content, and determineuser inputs; and a media play logic adapted to control playback of mediacontent received from a media server, including periodically displaying,at the user interface, a prompt to a user to elect to play an offeredadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content, in return for a periodof extended media play, and upon receiving, as a user input, an electionby the user to play the offered advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent, in return for the period of extended media play, playing theoffered advertisement or other sponsor-directed content and one ofconfiguring the media play logic for the period of extended media playincluding relatively less frequent subsequent advertisements, orprompting the user to select one of an extended media play configurationor a regular media play configuration.

In accordance with an embodiment, the system supports a methodcomprising providing, at a media device including a microprocessor, auser interface adapted to display media options corresponding to itemsof media content adapted to be received from a media server, anddetermine user inputs; controlling playback of media content receivedfrom the media server, including periodically displaying, at the userinterface, a prompt to a user to elect to play an offered advertisementor other sponsor-directed content, in return for a period of extendedmedia play, and upon receiving, as a user input, an election by the userto play the offered advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, inreturn for the period of extended media play, playing the offeredadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content and one of configuringthe media play logic for the period of extended media play includingrelatively less frequent subsequent advertisements, or prompting theuser to select one of an extended media play configuration or a regularmedia play configuration.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media server is adapted to insertthe offered advertisement or other sponsor-directed content into a mediastream being streamed by the media server to the media device.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media play logic is adapted sothat, upon an election not being received to play the offeredadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content in return for the periodof extended media play, then the media play logic is configured forregular media play configuration including relatively more frequentsubsequent advertisements.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media play logic is adapted to beconfigurable to always play offered advertisements, as if they had beenelected by the user for playing, in return for periods of extended mediaplay.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media server one or both storesthe media content and the advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent, or receives the media content and the advertisement or othersponsor-directed content from another system, for providing to the mediadevice.

In accordance with an embodiment, the system further comprise aplurality of media devices, and a plurality of media servers adapted tostream media content and advertisements to the media devices.

Selection of Advertisements Based on Playlist Context

In accordance with an embodiment, the system includes support forselection of targeted advertisement or other sponsor-directed contentbased on a playlist context. A media device enables access by a user toone or more playlists of media content at a media server. Advertisementscan be selected for providing to the user, based on one or morecharacteristics of a playlist, such as the playlist's description, orthe playlist being part of an advertisement campaign. For example, aplaylist bearing a particular descriptive title can be used to triggeradvertisements that may be relevant to that descriptive title. Adding aparticular song to a playlist can be used to trigger advertisements thatmay be relevant to that song.

In accordance with an embodiment, both sponsor-curated and user-curatedplaylists can be analyzed by the system, for example using thetechniques describe above, in order to trigger advertisements to insertinto the media stream controlled by that playlist, while the user islistening to (or in the case of a video playlist, watching) those mediacontent items indicated within the playlist.

For example, an advertisement can be targeted to a user based on aplaylist name, keywords found in the playlist, or a playlist descriptionand/or metadata derived from such information.

For example, playlists curated by users and stored in a playlistmemory/database either at the user's media device or at the media servercan provide good representations of mood, context, genre, and otherqualities of the media content items associated with the playlists.

In accordance with an embodiment, selection by a user of asponsor-curated or user-curated playlist can also be used to trigger theinsertion of an advertisement. For example, if a sponsor-curatedplaylist includes a soundtrack from a movie, then an advertisement forthat movie can be triggered and streamed to the user together with thesoundtrack for the move. A sponsor-curated playlist may also be part ofan advertisement campaign. Should a user select that playlist or mediafrom that playlist, the user will also receive an advertisement relatedto the advertisement campaign.

FIG. 24 illustrates a system that supports selection of targetedadvertisements based on a playlist context, in accordance with anembodiment.

As shown in FIG. 24, and as described above, in accordance with variousembodiments, the media device can be, for example, a personal computersystem, handheld entertainment device, tablet device, smartphone,television, audio speaker, in-car entertainment system, or other type ofelectronic or media device that is adapted or able to prepare, controlthe presentation of, and/or play media content, for example, music,video, or television content. Each of the media device and the mediaserver can include, respectively, one or more physical device orcomputer hardware resources, such as one or more processors, physicalmemory, network components, or other types of hardware resources. Amedia device can optionally include a user interface, which is adaptedto display media options, and to determine a user interaction or input.The media device can also include a media application and media playlogic which controls the playback of media content received from themedia server, for playing either at a requesting client device, or at acontrolled client device. A user can interact with the media applicationat a media device, for example using the user interface, and issuerequests to access media content, such as the playing of a selectedmusic or video item at their media device or at a controlled device, orthe streaming of a media channel or video stream to their media deviceor to a controlled device.

In accordance with an embodiment, a playlist database 605 includesinformation about one or more user-curated playlists 607,sponsor-curated playlists 611, or other playlists 619. For example, asponsor-curated playlist can be identified as or associated with asporting goods manufacturer, movie soundtrack, or restaurant. Auser-curated playlist can be identified as or associated with thedescription of an activity, for example “night out”, “wake up”, or“exercise music”. Other playlists can be associated with otherdescriptions, for example a User's Mix. Again, these are provided by wayof example and are not intended to be limiting examples.

In accordance with an embodiment, when a user or device interacts with aplaylist, e.g., to create or use, the system can recognize a playlistcontext 630 associated with that interaction.

In accordance with an embodiment, a sponsor-directed content oradvertisement can be selected based on one or more qualities of mediacontent items associated with the user curated playlist.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, playlists can be curatedaccording to themes, or commonality of music qualities. Advertisementspromoting music or sponsor-directed content can be provided in is lesslike message-based advertisements, can include, for example, music tracksamples inserted between music content items in a playlist. Such musictrack samples or sponsor-directed content can be well targeted byanalysis of user curated playlists. For example, if a playlist includesall tracks falling under a certain subgenre of music, then anadvertisement from a newly released compilation of such songs can beinserted into the media stream, or a sample from one or more tracks inthe newly released compilation can be inserted into the media stream.Such specificity in curated music can be well suited for tightlytargeted sponsor-directed content.

Keywords within a user curated playlist title, or within a descriptionof the playlist can be used to select sponsor-directed content. Forexample, a playlist titled “wake-up” can key the media streaming logicof a media server to select and insert promoted music with early morningthemes.

Keywords extracted from an analysis of a playlist can further be refinedin meaning by analysis of the music content of the playlist topotentially improve selection of sponsor-directed content. For example,as described above, metadata about the tracks in the playlist can beobtained and analyzed in a similar manner to analysis of ad hoc streams.

For example, metadata describing the musical qualities (e.g., mood,genre, tempo, etc.) of the media content of the playlist can be combinedwith the text of the playlist to determine what the title and/ordescription of the playlist represents. Such an analysis can beespecially useful for analyzing playlists curated by users.

In accordance with an embodiment, sponsor-directed content targetinguser curated playlist can be determined through analysis of the playlistin real time or near-real time as the user requests the playlist to bestreamed. Alternatively, the playlist can be analyzed separately from arequest to stream, and metadata created by the analysis can beassociated with the playlist for the use in selecting sponsor-directedcontent each time the playlist is played.

FIG. 25 further illustrates selection of targeted advertisements basedon a playlist context, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 25, in accordance with an embodiment, each playlist canbe associated with sponsor-directed content or advertisements 640, suchas content/advertisement A through N. This allows the system todetermine appropriate sponsor-directed content for a particularplaylist.

FIG. 26 further illustrates selection of targeted advertisements basedon a playlist context, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 26, the user interface can allow a user to select oneof a plurality of playlists, including playlist A 650, B 651 through N652. When a particular playlist is selected, data indicating theselected playlist 654 is passed to the media server for use intargeting.

FIG. 27 further illustrates selection of targeted advertisements basedon a playlist context, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 27, in accordance with an embodiment, the selectedplaylist and its playlist context can be used to determine anappropriate sponsor-directed advertisement 655.

FIG. 28 further illustrates selection of targeted advertisements basedon a playlist context, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 28, in accordance with an embodiment, thesponsor-content advertisement 656 can be provided to the media server,for streaming 660 to the media device.

A user can interact with the user interface of the user media device.The user media device is similar to previously described user mediadevices in that it has an operating system that runs on amicroprocessor. The media device includes a media application with amedia play logic which controls the user interface and the userselections sent to the media server. The media application and the mediaplay logic control and receive user interactions from the menu area, themedia play area and the control area.

FIG. 29 illustrates method of selecting targeted advertisements based ona playlist context, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 29, in accordance with an embodiment, at step 682,media content is streamed or otherwise provided to a media device whichenables display and/or playback of media options, wherein each mediaoption is associated with one or more media content items that can bestreamed to and/or played on the media device.

At step 684, a playlist context associated with a current media contentplaylist, is determined.

At step 686, sponsor-directed content, e.g., advertisements, is selectedto be delivered in conjunction with the currently-playing media content,or within the current session, according to the determined playlistcontext.

At step 687, sponsor-directed content, e.g., advertisements, is streamedor otherwise provided to the media device.

At step 689, a period of media play time is reset, and the streaming orotherwise providing media content to the media device continues.

The media server can trigger analysis when a number of followers (orsubscribers) and/or stream instances of a user curated playlist exceedsa threshold, at which point the playlist can be presumed to be ofsufficient quality and appeal. The playlist can then be analyzed forkeywords using the playlist name and/or the description accompanying theplaylist. Sponsor-directed contents (e.g., advertisements) can then beassociated with the playlist based on the analysis.

In accordance with an embodiment, sponsor curated playlists (stored inplaylist memory or database) can relate to content associated with thesponsor, or with partners of the sponsors, in accordance with anembodiment. The sponsor curated playlist (e.g., media playlists) can becurated based on the business of the sponsor, the advertisements of thesponsor, the advertisement campaigns of the sponsor, and the activitiesof the sponsor and/or the sponsor's community, by way of example. Theplaylists can be curated with themes that can appeal to services and/orproducts of the sponsor. For example, a restaurant may curate a morningplaylist, with advertisements for a breakfast menu, inserted atappropriate breaks, in the media stream.

Alternatively, instead of advertisements, the playlist can be curatedwith music with lyrics and/or themes that reference the sponsor in a popculture context and/or that mention in lyrics breakfast foods thathappen to be sold as part of the breakfast menu. Such playlists can, forexample, include mentions of the sponsor more briefly than the length ofa typical advertisement, relying instead on a brief mention incombination with the lyrics and themes of the playlist.

As another example, a sports equipment manufacturer curated work-outplaylist can provide the opportunity for the manufacturer to insertadvertisements for services and/or products of the manufacturer in themedia stream for the work-out playlist. The association of themanufacturer with athletics and fitness can allow the manufacturer tobuild goodwill with potential customers and partners not by insertingsponsor advertisements, but rather by inserting content about partnerssuch content about partners may include partners that may sell productsor services that may interest fitness users, such as heart ratemonitors. Such content may alternatively be content that is of use tofitness users, such as public service-style announcements that provideguidelines for maintaining hydration. Such community-oriented playlistcurating can help gain a following for the sponsor and further associategoodwill with the sponsor.

In accordance with an embodiment, the system can receive a request tostream a playlist and streaming media content from the playlist for someperiod of time. When the stream time exceeds some amount of minutes(e.g., x minutes), the media server is prompted to select and insert thesponsor-directed content into the stream. The media server selectssponsor-directed content (e.g., advertisements) to stream from a pool ofcontent generally associated with the playlist and/or sponsor-directedcontent or advertisements associated with the playlist. Thesponsor-directed content can be selected from the pool of contentrandomly, or based on sponsor prioritization, and/or based on thequalities of the media content of the playlist and/or the user profile,and/or the media device context. Once selected, the sponsor-directedcontent is streamed to the media device that requested the playlist.

In accordance with an embodiment, the sponsor-directed content can beselected from the pool of content, based on the qualities of the mediacontent of the playlist, the user profile, and/or the media devicecontext. As described, the method comprises receiving a request tostream a playlist to a media device and streaming media content from theplaylist to the media device for some period of time. When the streamtime exceeds some amount of minutes (e.g., x minutes), the media serveris prompted to select and insert the sponsor-directed content into thestream. The media server determines a pool of sponsor-directed contentassociated with the playlist.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media server can obtain metadatarelated to the just-streamed media content from a metadata, andoptionally contextual information from a user profile, and/or contextualinformation about the media device. The metadata and contextualinformation can be used by the media streaming logic of the media serverto select sponsor-directed content (e.g., one or more advertisements)from the pool of sponsor-directed content determined to be associatedwith the playlist. Once selected, the sponsor-directed content isstreamed to the media device that requested the previous media content.After the sponsor-directed content has been delivered and consumed, thenext media content items are streamed and the method is repeated. Theobtained metadata can be purged and the time until the next break forsponsor-directed content can be reset.

As described above, sponsor curated playlists can be curated by thesponsor, but alternatively can be curated on behalf of the sponsor bythe third-party. In accordance with an embodiment, playlists can becreated on behalf of a sponsor by a centralized group of teamsassociated with the media server. In accordance with an embodiment,playlists can be manually created and curated, for example, by selectedteams based on, e.g., genre, mood, target activity. In otherembodiments, playlists can be created and curated for rotatingsponsorship.

For example, a workout playlist can be created and subsequentlysponsored based on rising popularity among users. Sponsorships may lapseor otherwise expire, giving other sponsors an opportunity to sponsorplaylists that continue to be popular among a user base.Sponsor-directed content can be updated based on changes in sponsorship.Sponsor playlists can be branded and promoted using the name of thesponsor, or alternatively the sponsors can remain hidden, having apresence in the sponsor-directed content or advertisements, butotherwise maintaining a low profile. In accordance with an embodiment,multiple sponsor playlists can be collected together under a brand, andpromoted together under the brand.

Sponsor playlists can further be curated that are directly related to aproduct and/or service of the sponsor. For example, a sponsor playlistof music from the soundtrack of a movie can be sponsored by theproducers of the movie. Sponsor-directed content can includeadvertisements for the movie itself. The server can determine if musicplayed from the soundtrack is played in the context of the playlist, orrather played in a radio context and not associated with the soundtrackin particular.

Playlist information, such as track listings, descriptions, title, andoptionally metadata, can be stored, for example, in a database of themedia server or an external database accessible to the media server.Operations can be performed on the playlist, include, for example,deleting a track, adding a track, deletion of playlist, and/ormodification of text of the playlist. Once updated, the information inthe database can be stored in the databases.

In accordance with an embodiment, a system is described for delivering amedia content based on a playlist context, comprising a media deviceincluding a microprocessor; a user interface adapted to display mediaoptions, including playlists, corresponding to items of media content,and determine user inputs; and a media play logic adapted to controlplayback of media content received from a media server, wherein themedia play logic is adapted to trigger and to receive from the mediaserver, a stream of media content, in conjunction with a particularadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content, depending on a selectedplaylist.

In accordance with an embodiment, the system supports a methodcomprising providing, at a media device including a microprocessor, auser interface adapted to display media options, including playlists,corresponding to items of media content adapted to be received from amedia server, and determine user inputs; and controlling playback ofmedia content received from the media server, including triggering andreceiving from the media server, a stream of media content, inconjunction with a particular advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent, depending on a selected playlist.

In accordance with an embodiment, advertisements or othersponsor-directed content received by the media device, from the mediaserver, depends at least partly on analytical and descriptive dataassociated with particular items of media content, and a user profileassociated with the user.

In accordance with an embodiment, the analytical data that provides forthe delivery of advertisements or other sponsor-directed contentincludes at least one of a tempo, consonance, pitch and texture of mediacontent associated with the selected playlist.

In accordance with an embodiment, the descriptive data that provides forthe delivery of advertisements or other sponsor-directed includes atleast one of a genre, mood, lyrics, and keywords of media contentassociated with the selected playlist.

In accordance with an embodiment, the user profile that provides for thedelivery of advertisements or other sponsor-directed includes at leastone of a location data and a type of media device associated with theuser.

In accordance with an embodiment, the user profile that provides for thedelivery of advertisements or other sponsor-directed includes a locationdata coordinated with at least one of events, places, and environmentalconditions in proximity to the user.

In accordance with an embodiment, the playlists include one or moreuser-curated or sponsor-curated playlists, each of which indicates itemsof media content that can be related to one or more advertisements for aparticular sponsor.

In accordance with an embodiment, a sponsor-curated playlist includesmedia selections that can be related to an advertisement campaign of thesponsor and are used to determine advertisements related to thatadvertisement campaign.

In accordance with an embodiment, advertisements received by the mediadevice depend at least partly on analytical and descriptive dataassociated with the sponsor-curated playlist.

Enhanced User-Sponsor Interaction

In accordance with an embodiment, the system includes support fordelivery of media content with enhanced user-sponsor interaction. Userinteraction with a media device can be provided by, for example, voiceor tactile command, in addition or as an alternative to the device'sregular user interface. For example, a user can interact with anadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content, by speaking to orshaking their device, to signal a preference for a particular type ofcontent or advertisement. As another example, a spoken or shaking actioncan be used to trigger or to pause an advertisement break within a mediastream, so that the user can control advertisement breaks to better suittheir particular lifestyle.

In accordance with an embodiment, the system can be used to improve theuser experience of receiving sponsor-directed content or advertisements,by allowing the user to have control of, manage, and interact with suchsponsor-directed content through user inputs. In accordance with variousembodiments, the system can use alternative methods of signaling a userpreference for an advertisement style or type. For example, suchalternative methods can allow a user to select the previously describedwatch-now or play now functionality whereby the user obtains extendedmedia play for playing a longer advertisement. Such alternative methodscan also allow the users to skip, or rate, or up vote or down vote anadvertisement using audio or voice inputs and commands through by way ofexample, a headset microphone in a mobile device. Accordingly, userfeedback can be taken into account as advertisements are streamed to theuser.

In accordance with an embodiment, alternative methods of signaling userpreference can use a shaking action with a mobile device to trigger anadvertisement break or pause. With such shaking action, the user canstart or stop advertisement breaks earlier than scheduled as the userdesires. Alternatively a shaking action could trigger a longeradvertisement break such that the user does not receive and avoids thenext scheduled advertisement break.

Such features enable the user to manage how and when the user receivesand plays an advertisement. This control over the advertisement enhancesthe user's enjoyment and allows the user to take in more of theadvertisement and learn more about the message of the advertisement atthe user's own pace.

FIG. 30 illustrates a system that supports delivery of media contentwith enhanced user-sponsor interaction, in accordance with anembodiment.

As shown in FIG. 30, and as described above, in accordance with variousembodiments, the media device can be, for example, a personal computersystem, handheld entertainment device, tablet device, smartphone,television, audio speaker, in-car entertainment system, or other type ofelectronic or media device that is adapted or able to prepare, controlthe presentation of, and/or play media content, for example, music,video, or television content. Each of the media device and the mediaserver can include, respectively, one or more physical device orcomputer hardware resources, such as one or more processors, physicalmemory, network components, or other types of hardware resources. Amedia device can optionally include a user interface, which is adaptedto display media options, and to determine a user interaction or input.The media device can also include a media application and media playlogic which controls the playback of media content received from themedia server, for playing either at a requesting client device, or at acontrolled client device. A user can interact with the media applicationat a media device, for example using the user interface, and issuerequests to access media content, such as the playing of a selectedmusic or video item at their media device or at a controlled device, orthe streaming of a media channel or video stream to their media deviceor to a controlled device.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media device can include a userinterface, which displays a menu area 704, and control area 706, andwhich is adapted to one of a plurality of playlists, including playlistA 708 through N 709. Selecting a particular media option or playlist canbe used as a request or instruction to the media server application tostream or otherwise return a corresponding particular item of mediacontent for playback on the media device.

As shown in FIG. 30, the media device can include one or more sensors,such as a microphone sensor 710, motion sensor 715, and/or camera sensor717. The sensors can be use to provide an enhanced user interaction 720,with a media server, and receive an enhanced response 722.

In accordance with an embodiment, a user can interact with the mediadevice through a variety of methods including the control buttons ofcontrol area, through motion sensors (which sense the user shaking themedia device), through front and back facing cameras, and through aswiping or tapping action on the media play area which is presentlydisplaying the media advertisement. It is to be understood that suchinteractive moves can be accomplished in addition to the use of thebuttons in the control area. It is further to be understood that suchinteractive moves can be accomplished at any time even when the user iswatching media and/or advertisements on the media play area. Whateveractions the user takes, such actions can be sent as user prompts to themedia server.

FIG. 31 further illustrates delivery of media content with enhanceduser-sponsor interaction, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 31, example sensors can include, audio speaker sensors740 such as a microphone, camera, or physical buttons; televisionsensors 741 such as a microphone, camera, or physical buttons;smartphone or computer sensors 742 such as a microphone, camera, motiondetector, or physical buttons or trackpad; or automobile sensors 743such as a microphone, or physical buttons.

FIG. 32 further illustrates delivery of media content with enhanceduser-sponsor interaction, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 32, a media device can receive streamed mediacontent/advertisements 760 from the media server. At a particular pointin time, a user can provided an enhanced user interaction 762, forexample a shaking or spoken action, which is detected by the sensors ofthat mobile device and communicated to the media server. For example,the user can be prompted using an audio prompt to e.g., shake theirmedia device or speak to follow a particular action.

FIG. 33 further illustrates delivery of media content with enhanceduser-sponsor interaction, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 33, the media device and user can receive an enhancedresponse 764, either from the media server, or from a third-party server770, including a third-party database 772 of additional content.

FIG. 34 illustrates a method for supporting delivery of media contentwith enhanced user-sponsor interaction, in accordance with anembodiment.

As shown in FIG. 34, at step 782, media content is streamed or otherwiseprovided to a media device which enables display and/or playback ofmedia options, wherein each media option is associated with one or moremedia content items that can be streamed to and/or played on the mediadevice.

At step 784, sponsor-directed content, e.g., advertisements, is selectedto be delivered in conjunction with the currently-playing media content,or within a current session, e.g., according to a determined mediastyle, or a determined playlist context.

At step 786, sponsor-directed content, e.g., advertisements, is streamedor otherwise provided to the media device.

At step 787, the system awaits an enhanced user interaction from one ormore sensors at the media device.

At step 788, if an enhanced user interaction is received, then thesystem provides an enhanced response, e.g., additional sponsor-directedcontent or advertisement, or additional functionality.

At step 789, a period of media play time is reset, and the streaming orotherwise providing of media content to the media device continues.

In accordance with an embodiment, the interactive sponsor-directedcontent or advertisements can be selected based on one or more of mediacontent qualities, playlist inclusion, user profile information andmedia device context, for example, as described above.

As described above, a user requesting a media stream can interact with amedia play area of a media device to play, pause, advance, replay, andotherwise control the media content (and for that mattersponsor-directed content or advertisements) being delivered to the mediaplay area of the media device.

Interaction can occur, for example, within a control area displayingicons corresponding to individual controls, for example by way ofcontact with a touch screen and/or by way of selection using an inputdevice such as an onscreen pointer controlled by a mouse. Interactioncan also occur anywhere in the media play area where enabled, either bycontrols, including gesture controls such as swiping left or rightacross the touchscreen, or by pop-up icons, for example.

Interaction can also occur during delivery of sponsor-directed contentor advertisements, although the displayed controls and/or theinteraction within the media play area can be different from thoseenabled during play of requested media content. For example, a sponsormay desire to prevent a user from skipping sponsor-directed content oradvertisements by disabling or removing advance icons or interactions,such as swiping right to advance.

In accordance with an embodiment, a sponsor can tailor permittedinteractions during delivery of sponsor-directed content oradvertisements. Permitted interactions could include advancing toalternative sponsor-directed content or advertisements, or engaging withsponsor-directed content at a deeper level.

For example, a user may find a displayed advertisement appealing, and inaccordance with an embodiment can be permitted to “learn more” bytouching the sponsor-directed content displayed in the media play areaof the media device or by touching a “learn more” button displayed in acontrol area. Additional and/or more extensive sponsor-directed contentor advertisements can then be delivered to the media device.

Alternatively and/or additionally, some other action can occur relativeto interaction with sponsor-directed content. For example, the mediaapplication can be prompted to launch a web browser on the media deviceand load the sponsor's website for the product in the web browser orload a site for purchasing the product, such as a product page for anonline retailer. The media application can be prompted to launch otherapplications, for example, a map application. Such map application canthen be prompted to load a specific physical address and/or prompted toload turn-by-turn or step-by-step directions to some location based offof input of location data describing the location of the media device.

In order to avoid interrupting the user's experience, upon interactingwith sponsor-directed content via the media play area of the mediadevice, a user can be prompted to confirm the user's desire to “learnmore” or otherwise interact with the sponsor-directed content.

Some additional interactions can be enabled. For example, a replay iconor replay-causing swipe gesture can be enabled to allow a user to replaysponsored content, as such interactions can imply that the user may beinterested in sponsor-directed content due to repeated hearing. This canbe useful if the user is distracted, for example, or if the user mayhave just heard only a portion of the sponsor-directed content.

Certain media content streamed to a media device is consumed by the userwith limited interaction by the user with the media device. For example,a user may stream multiple media content items, such as entire albums orplaylists of music, or media content items of long length, such as anaudio book or a lecture. The user may listen to a requested stream usingheadphones, and place the media device out of sight, for example in apocket, shoulder bag, or on an armband. Where the media device is asmartphone, for example, the user may be required to retrieve thesmartphone, enter a password to unlock the smartphone, select the mediaapplication on the touchscreen, and wait for the media play area to fillthe touchscreen before being able to interact with sponsor-directedcontent.

In accordance with various embodiments, a user can interact withsponsor-directed content by interacting with a media device using inputsto the media device other than, or in addition to the standardtouch-or-click interface of a media application used to play a mediastream. The interaction can be transmitted by the media device to amedia server via a user prompt. The media application interface of themedia server can prompt the media server application to send additionalsponsor-directed content, for example to subscribe the user to an artistor a playlist, play promoted music, play favorite promoted music, orperform any other function to the media application.

Alternatively, the media server application, or the media application,can send a response to the media device, for example a command to openan external application such as a command to open a web browser to aspecific web address or a command to open a map application to aspecific physical address in order to obtain additional sponsor-directedcontent.

In accordance with the above, interaction with the media device can beachieved through multiple different inputs and sensors. In accordancewith an embodiment, a user can shake a smartphone having motion sensorsto indicate interest in an advertisement, for example, rather thanunlocking the user's phone and opening the application. If theinteraction is likely unfamiliar to the user, the sponsor-directedcontent can prompt the user by means of audio instruction at thebeginning of the sponsor-directed content (e.g., “shake device to learnmore”). The media application of the media device can receive inputsfrom the motion sensors, interpret the shaking as a user prompt, andsend the user prompt to the media server. The media server applicationinterface can determine how to respond to the user prompt based oninstructions associated with the particular advertisement to which theuser responds.

In accordance with an embodiment, to obtain prompts from a user, aconnection can be established with the core operating system of themedia device, so that signals from sensors and other input devices suchas camera or microphone can be read by the media application. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the media application determines whichsensor information and input signals constitute user prompts, andcontrol the information that is sent to the media server. In accordancewith an embodiment, the media application and media server are capableof activating sensors, obtaining data from the operating system, andapplying the data to an attribution for the application.

For example, in accordance with an embodiment, data received from theoperating system can act as a “click” action, where click=true indicatesprompting interest. In another embodiment, all sensor information andinput signals can be sent directly to the media server where the mediaapplication interface can determine how to use the information received.

In accordance with various embodiments, detecting a user prompt usingmotion sensing with sensor is one form of interacting with a mediadevice to generate a user prompt. However, many other input that can bedetected by the media device, can be used to indicate a prompt. Forexample, smartphones and other mobile devices include integratedmicrophones that can be used for voice interaction. Rather thaninstructing a user to click on the interface to learn more, an audioprompt can be delivered such as “say the words ‘learn more’” or “at thetone, say ‘learn more’ if you want to learn more” in order to obtain orlearn more about a sponsored product and/or service.

Audio prompts for triggering interaction with promoted music caninclude, for example, “say the words ‘play track”’ or “say the words‘follow artist’”, or some other combination of prompt words appropriateto the sponsor-directed content. Voice commands can be integrated intothe media application's ability to launch other applications.

For example, a provider of a product and/or service can be contacted byverbally speaking the words “dial now”, which could take the user to thephone function of a smartphone and dial a number to contact a customerservice representative of the provider.

In accordance with an embodiment, the method can comprise streamingmedia content or some period of time. When the stream time exceeds someamount of minutes (e.g., x minutes), the media server is prompted toselect and insert the sponsor-directed content into the stream. Themedia streaming logic selects sponsor-directed content (e.g., one ormore advertisements) to stream based on one or more of obtained metadatarelated to qualities of the streamed media content, metadata related toa playlist where the playlist is selected for playback, user profileinformation, and media device context, for example, media devicelocation. Once selected, the sponsor-directed content is streamed to themedia device that requested the previously streamed media content. Themedia server can listen for a user prompt as the sponsor-directedcontent is delivered and consumed. If a prompt is detected, a responseis launched that is appropriate to the sponsor-directed content that isbeing delivered at the moment of the prompt.

As described above, in accordance with an embodiment, the response canbe, for example, to stream additional related sponsor-directed contentand/or to launch an application, such as an external web browser with aspecific web address related to additional sponsor-directed content or amap application such as with a specific location and with turn-by-turnor step-by-step directions to the location.

In accordance with an embodiment, the method comprises requesting aplurality of media content items, receiving a media stream in responseto the request, receiving sponsor-directed content or advertisementsinserted into the media stream, and prompting interaction with thesponsor-directed content in response to an indication by a user. Aresponse to the interaction with the sponsor-directed content is thenreceived.

As described above, such indication can be in at least one of the formssuch as, touching a button on the control area or in the media playarea, swiping the media play area screen, shaking the media device andaccordingly its motion sensor, making a motion that is captured by thecamera, and/or making a voice command that is captured by themicrophone. The request for content items can be made via a user orclient operating on the media device and can include, for example, videoand/or audio content items, and/or playlist(s) including video and/oraudio content items aggregated together in a playlist.

In accordance with an embodiment, the request is received by a mediaserver and the media stream is received by the media device from themedia server in response. After some period of time, the media serverselects the sponsor-directed content and inserts the sponsor-directedcontent or advertisements into the stream.

In accordance with an embodiment, the user prompts an interaction withsponsor-directed content or advertisements by one or more inputs andsensors of the media device supplementing an interface of the mediadevice. The response to the interaction with the sponsor-directedcontent can be determined by the media server and delivered to the mediadevice, for example in the form of additional related sponsor-directedcontent inserted into the stream and/or a command to launch anapplication, such as an external web browser with a specific web addressor a map application with a specific location and with turn-by-turn orstep-by-step directions to the location.

For example, a user may use multiple different media devices to streammusic from a media server. Different media devices can have differentinputs that they accept and sensor information that they receive. Forexample, a user may use a desktop computer at work or home, a laptopcomputer on the road, a smartphone or other mobile device throughout theday. The inputs and/or sensor information used can depend on the type ofmedia device being used and/or the context (for example, location) inwhich the media device is being used.

For example, a smartphone typically includes an integrated microphone,an integrated camera, motion sensors, location or GPS capabilities andphysical buttons. A laptop typically includes an integrated microphone,an integrated camera, a track pad, and physical buttons including akeyboard and trackpad buttons. A desktop, however, may or may notinclude a microphone, and may or may not include a camera, but insteadmay include a mouse, and physical buttons including a keyboard and mousebuttons. Other devices to which media can be streamed, includingtelevision sets and internet connected radios (home or auto), may belimited to physical buttons, or may be controlled by sensor-equippedhome entertainment devices. For example, a television connected with amotion sensing device can recognize gestures.

In addition to enabling different interactions with sponsor-directedcontent based on available inputs and/or sensor information, inaccordance with an embodiment, the sponsor-directed content itself canbe tailored based on knowledge of the inputs and/or sensor informationavailable to the media device to which the media server streams mediacontent.

As described above, media device context information can be useful toselecting sponsor-directed content. In the examples described above,location data can allow sponsor-directed content to be delivered basedon local weather, local events, and/or the nature of a location.Sponsor-directed content can also be delivered based on knowledge of amake and model of the media device, from which the media server canascertain available inputs and/or sensor information.

The additional inputs and sensor information can be useful in manydifferent contexts other than the ones described above. For example, ifa user prefers to listen to music or other programming while cooking inthe kitchen, the user's hands may be full or wet with cookingingredients, and therefore be unable to physically interact with themedia device streaming media content from the media server. The usercan, alternatively, interact with the media device by speaking verbalcommands to “learn more” or to otherwise interact with sponsor-directedcontent.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media application can furtherallow the user to use different inputs and/or sensor information tooperate the media application to play media content items and tointeract (to pause, advance or replay), for example, with media contentitems. Encouraging use of verbal commands to request and play mediacontent can improve the user's familiarity with interacting with themedia application and thereby make interacting with sponsor-directedcontent more natural.

As additional input devices and sensor information becomes available ondifferent media devices, the media applications operating on thosedevices can incorporate additional functionality. Embodiments describedherein are not intended to be limited to the specific inputs and sensorinformation described herein.

As previously indicated, actions taken by the user with the mediaapplication can also be used to determine the context of the user and/orthe relevance of sponsor-directed content to the user and/or determinethat the user may not wish to recall sponsor-directed content.

For example, the media application can determine that the user startsskipping advertisements, or that the user tries to lower the volume ofthe sponsor-directed content, either by the user's interaction with themedia application or by the use of the physical buttons of the mediadevice. Such signals can indicate the relevance of the sponsor-directedcontent to the user. Certain actions taken by the user/user duringsponsor-directed content can represent a negative signal that can beused in real-time to improve the sponsor-directed content that isselected for the user.

Quality scores based on implicit positive and negative signals can beused to attempt to optimize the user's experience. For example, negativesignals such as volume decreases, media application focus changes,advertisement minimizations, attempted skips and media applicationexits, can be collected and weighted. Positive signals such as click-torate, audio/video completion rate, and the like can also be collectedand weighted.

In accordance with an embodiment, both positive and negative signals canthen be analyzed and an overall quality score can be obtained, allow theserver to quantify user experience. User experience data can continue tobe collected to iteratively refine the sponsor-directed contentselection, in a feedback loop.

In accordance with an embodiment, a system is described for providingenhanced user-sponsor interaction in a media environment, comprising amedia device including a microprocessor; a user interface adapted todisplay media options corresponding to items of media content, anddetermine user inputs; and a media play logic adapted to controlplayback of media content received from a media server, includingassociating a request with the media device to cause a plurality ofmedia content items to be delivered as a media stream from the mediaserver to the media device; receiving, at the media device, anadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content inserted into the mediastream by the media server; and one of prompting or determining, usingone or more sensors of the media device, an interaction by a user inconnection with the advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, foruse in providing an enhanced user-sponsor interaction.

In accordance with an embodiment, the system supports a methodcomprising providing, at a media device including a microprocessor, auser interface adapted to display media options corresponding to itemsof media content adapted to be received from a media server, anddetermine user inputs; controlling playback of media content receivedfrom the media server, including associating a request with the mediadevice to cause a plurality of media content items to be delivered as amedia stream from the media server to the media device; receiving, atthe media device, an advertisement or other sponsor-directed contentinserted into the media stream by the media server; and one of promptingor determining, using one or more sensors of the media device, aninteraction by a user in connection with the advertisement or othersponsor-directed content, for use in providing an enhanced user-sponsorinteraction.

In accordance with an embodiment, the interaction by the user inconnection with the advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, isrecognized as an indication by the user to skip through theadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content.

In accordance with an embodiment, the interaction by the user inconnection with the advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, isrecognized as an indication of the user's preference for theadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content, or a request to receiveadditional information in connection with the advertisement or othersponsor-directed content.

In accordance with an embodiment, the interaction by the user inconnection with the advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, isrecognized as an indication for the user to receive a period of extendedmedia play in exchange for displaying a particular advertisement.

In accordance with an embodiment, the one or more sensors of the mediadevice includes one or more microphone, motion sensor, or camera adaptedto determine a gesture by the user as a user interaction.

In accordance with an embodiment, in response to a determined userinteraction in connection with the advertisement or othersponsor-directed content, the method includes receiving an additionaladvertisement or other sponsor-directed content.

Delivery of Content and Advertisements in a Connected Media Environment

In accordance with an embodiment, the system includes support fordelivery of media content and advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent across a connected media environment. Playback can selectivelyfollow a user from one location to another location, or from one mediadevice to another media device, either maintaining a same session orswitching sessions depending on the user's location, media device used,and user activity. Playback of advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent can be synchronized between different areas of the connectedmedia environment, or between different media devices, for examplebetween a secondary device such as an audio speaker in a particularroom, which is being controlled by a primary device such as a smartphonein another room.

In accordance with an embodiment media and advertisements may be playedor viewed on a secondary media device which is synchronized with theprimary media device of the user. In other words an embodiment providesfor synchronized and connected media and advertisements.

FIG. 35 illustrates a system that supports delivery of media content andsponsor-directed content or advertisements across a connected mediaenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 35, and as described above, in accordance with variousembodiments, the media device can be, for example, a personal computersystem, handheld entertainment device, tablet device, smartphone,television, audio speaker, in-car entertainment system, or other type ofelectronic or media device that is adapted or able to prepare, controlthe presentation of, and/or play media content, for example, music,video, or television content. Each of the media device and the mediaserver can include, respectively, one or more physical device orcomputer hardware resources, such as one or more processors, physicalmemory, network components, or other types of hardware resources. Amedia device can optionally include a user interface, which is adaptedto display media options, and to determine a user interaction or input.The media device can also include a media application and media playlogic which controls the playback of media content received from themedia server, for playing either at a requesting client device, or at acontrolled client device. A user can interact with the media applicationat a media device, for example using the user interface, and issuerequests to access media content, such as the playing of a selectedmusic or video item at their media device or at a controlled device, orthe streaming of a media channel or video stream to their media deviceor to a controlled device.

In accordance with an embodiment, each media device can be associatedwith media device location information and/or user account information.For example a user's smartphone device can be associated with a mediadevice location information 810 including one or more of an Internetaddress for use in a car, home entertainment system or as a wearableitem, together with a user account information 812 such as beingassociated with a user's account parents account, siblings accountedetc.

Similarly, in accordance with an embodiment, an audio speaker can beassociated with a media device location information 820. User/deviceinformation 830 can be provided at the media server, which allows theserver to stream media content/advertisements 832 to the appropriatedevice within the connected media environment

Accordingly, a user can move between media devices and have a continuousflow of media and/or advertisements and not abruptly be placed in themiddle of new media or advertisements or have media or advertisementsdiscontinued. In this manner, the media and advertisements can besynchronized and effectively connected between media devices, eventhough different users may be registered to the other media devices andeven though different users may be using the different media devices.

In accordance with an embodiment, media and advertisements can beconnected between, for example, a bedroom desktop platform, a livingroom home entertainment system, a wearable media device such as a smartwatch, and an automobile navigation system as the user moves betweenthose locations, with the different user media devices used in each ofthose locations.

In accordance with an embodiment, media and advertisements can bedifferent between for example different rooms of a home. The differentadvertisements may be targeted to the different activities that mayoccur in different locations and/or room or may be targeted to thedifferent devices located in the different locations and/or rooms.

Additionally, In accordance with an embodiment, media and advertisementsmay be served to wearable devices such as smart watches, smart glasses,helmets, self-powered headsets or earphones, and even wearable clothing.Media and advertisements can be delivered to media devices such assmartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop platforms and other platforms andsuch media and advertisements can be synchronized and served to wearabledevices.

Accordingly, an advertisement, for example, can be served to a desktopplatform and said advertisement may have a companion advertisement thatis served to a wearable device such as a smart watch. The companionadvertisement may allow the user to obtain more information related tothe advertisement initially served to the desktop platform. Suchadditional information may be relevant to the user as the user movesabout, and does not have access to the original desktop platform. Suchadditional information may, for example, be directs to a location orvenue relevant to the original advertisement. Such additionalinformation may, for example, include additional information thatbecomes more relevant when the user reaches a location or destinationsuch as a restaurant first described in the original advertisementserved to the desktop platform. Such additional information may includedirections to a location that are served to a smart watch, smartglasses, another wearable device and/or a mobile phone.

Conversely, in accordance with an embodiment, the user may first hear anoriginal advertisement on a wearable device, and later go to a desktopplatform to view a companion advertisement that provides moreinformation, and more easily and completely viewed information, such asmaps and text about the topic of interest to the user.

For example, an advertisement may be streamed to a wearable device aboutan event. The user may then go to a desktop platform and log onto awebsite and be connected to the companion advertisement about the sameevent.

Additionally, advertisements can be targeted based on motion sensors inwearable media devices. Accordingly, when a user is moving as indicatedby the motion sensors or the user changes from a stationary media deviceto a wearable media device, media and advertisements can be targeted andstreamed to the user based on the real-time motion sensor data providedby the wearable or mobile media device.

In accordance with an embodiment, users can move from location tolocation and from media device to media device, and stay within the samesession to continuously receive the same stream of media andadvertisements. The devices are effectively connected and the media andadvertisements are accordingly connected and synchronized together.

In accordance with an embodiment, in the menu area of the user mediadevice, menus can be displayed to allow the user to move from mediadevice to media device and location to location and stay within the samesession. The menu area can show a menu of media device locations at menuand a menu of user/device accounts/privileges. The media device locationmenu can store the IP addresses of the various user media devices aswell as the physical location information. The user/deviceaccounts/privileges menus indicates which user devices and associatedaccounts that the user has access to and is able to add to any sessionfor the streaming of media and advertising.

FIG. 36 further illustrates delivery of media content andsponsor-directed content or advertisements across a connected mediaenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 36, each of the other devices such as television,computer and in-car entertainment systems can be similarly associatedwith a media device location information 821, 822, 823 respectively, andcan allow user interaction 840.

FIG. 37 further illustrates delivery of media content andsponsor-directed content or advertisements across a connected mediaenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 37, as the user interacts 841 with a first device, inthis example their smartphone, the media server can use its user/deviceinformation to direct 842 the media content and/or advertisements to theappropriate device.

FIG. 38 further illustrates delivery of media content andsponsor-directed content or advertisements across a connected mediaenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 38, if the user interacts 848 with a second ordifferent device, or requests that content be sent to a differentdestination device, in this example their audio speaker, the connectedmedia environment can update 852 the user/device information at themedia server, to provide an updated user/device information 854. Themedia streaming logic can then use the updated user/device informationto determine 856 a session/media content/advertisement information,based on the current context.

FIG. 39 further illustrates delivery of media content andsponsor-directed content or advertisements across a connected mediaenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 39, the targeted selection 857 of potentially differentmedia content 858 and/or advertisement 859 can be directed to thedifferent destination device within the connected media environment, tofollow 860 the user as they move within the connected environment,including from one device to another.

FIG. 40 illustrates a method for supporting delivery of media contentand sponsor-directed content or advertisements across a connected mediaenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 40, at step 880, media content is streamed or otherwiseprovided to a media device which enables display and/or playback ofmedia options, wherein each media option is associated with one or moremedia content items that can be streamed to and/or played on the mediadevice.

At step 882, sponsor-directed content, e.g., advertisements, is selectedto be delivered in conjunction with the currently-playing media content,or within a current session, e.g., according to a determined mediastyle, or a determined playlist context

At step 884, instruction is received to change playback of media contentand/or sponsor-directed between a first media device and a second mediadevice within a connected media environment.

At step 886, streaming or providing of media content and/orsponsor-directed content is switched between the first media device andthe second media device within the connected media, includingmaintaining a same session or switching sessions depending on a userlocation, media device used, and/or user activity. In accordance with anembodiment, the sponsor content can also be adjusted, to better fit thecapabilities of the new or second device, such as moving from a wearablefirst device, to a desktop second device.

In accordance with an embodiment, a connected media environment canprovide a more seamless experience to a user as the user moves from onelocation to another location, streaming media content and/oradvertisements to different platforms or media devices appropriate tothe user's environment at any given time.

In accordance with an embodiment, the connected media environment caninclude connected devices associated with a common account (e.g.,username), multiple related accounts, and/or multiple subaccounts.

For example, a user may desire that a requested media stream follow theuser from device to device based on access to the user's account.

As another example, the user may be running on a trail and listening toa media stream on a mobile device, before going home in the car. Theuser can continue a media stream over the car entertainment system,which can launch an embedded media application that automatically logsinto the user's account or asks the user to select among multipleaccounts for login. Arriving home and walking in the house, the user canthen instantly pick up where the user left off by turning on the homeentertainment system to reengage the media server using the mediaapplication embedded in the home entertainment system. The user'ssession can be paused and streaming can continue the next morning on thecar entertainment system on the drive into the office, where in theoffice, the user can then continue the media stream at the user'sdesktop workstation.

By continuing the stream, the user can use extended play time obtainedon one device for listening to watch-now and/or play now advertisementsor other promotions on a different device. Additionally, companionadvertisements may be delivered to a second device in the streamedsession. Sponsor-directed content can be selected based in part onsponsor-directed content that has been previously streamed, including ona different device within the connected media environment, thereby moreintelligently selecting sponsor-directed content to improve the user'sexperience. The user can continue listening to the requested mediacontent items in the media stream.

The above functionality can be useful where continuity is important, forexample when listening to an audio book or lecture. It can also beuseful where the user desires to continue listening to a playlist ofmusic.

In some embodiments, a user's listening preferences can vary withcontext. Access to a user's account from different media devices canautomatically trigger switching between playlists or music contentrequest queues, or can prompt the user to be asked if a change inprogramming is desired.

For example, if a home entertainment device is voice control enabled, asthe user enters the home and turns on the home entertainment device, thehome entertainment device can provide an audio prompt such as “welcomehome, continue playing ‘Jazz’ or another set of selection?” A user canstay logged into media applications on multiple different devices andselect the device that is actively streaming at any given time.

In accordance with an embodiment, within a connected media environment,users may access media streams via a common internet connected wirelessrouter. A common setup may include, for example, home entertainmentsystem, televisions and radios having embedded media applications, (suchas media application) for streaming media content, one or more desktop,laptop, and/or tablet computers each having a media applicationdownloaded and installed as a client, and one or more mobile devices,each having a mobile version of the media application installed as aclient. The devices within the connected media environment used forstreaming media content can depend on a user's activity and the qualityof user's experience. If multiple devices are logged into differentaccounts via a common wireless router, media content selections, andselection of sponsor-directed content, and incentives such as rewards,can be aggregated across the multiple accounts that access the mediaserver via the common router.

For example, if a user is cooking in the kitchen, the user may startstreaming media from a radio or laptop placed on a kitchen counter, witha client logged in under the user's mother's username. If the user movesto the living room after the user is finished in the kitchen, the usermay want to stream media to a home entertainment system having higherquality audio speakers, but having a client logged in under the user'susername. If the user then retires to the bedroom to read a book, theuser may want to stream media to a television perched on a bureau havingan embedded media application logged in under the user's own name. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the entire session, including mediacontent requests and sponsor-directed content selection can seamlesslytransfer between devices on the network.

In accordance with an embodiment, the method comprises streaming mediacontent for some period of time. If the media server detects that theuser is streaming from another media device, the media server can obtainthe context of the now-streaming device. If both devices are streamingthrough a common connected media environment, the media server canobtain any information about that environment which it might havepreviously stored. The media server then continues streaming mediacontent to the requesting media device. When the stream time exceedssome amount of minutes (e.g., x minutes), the media server is promptedto select and insert the sponsor-directed content into the stream. Themedia streaming logic selects sponsor-directed content (e.g., one ormore advertisements) to stream based on one or more of obtained metadatarelated to qualities of the streamed media content, metadata related toa playlist where the playlist is selected for playback, user profileinformation, and media device context. Once selected, thesponsor-directed content is streamed to the media device that requestedthe previously streamed media content.

As described above, the context of a media device can be used to selectsponsor-directed content for streaming to the user. In accordance withan embodiment, accessing a media server from a connected mediaenvironment can provide an opportunity to obtain additional informationfor drawing inferences about what activities the user may be engaged in.For example, if the environment is profiled as a user's residence,sponsor-directed content can be targeted to domestic activities.Receiving a signal that a user is connecting from a mobile device to ahome entertainment system can be a signal to the media server fordetermining what that user is doing, allowing the media server tooptimize the advertisement experience based on that signal.

For example, if the user is streaming from a home entertainment centerand has moved the stream to the kitchen, and the local time isidentified as within a lunch window, advertisements for nearby eateriesthat serve lunch can be selected for streaming.

In accordance with an embodiment, if a connected media environment is acommercial business, for example, the commercial business can sponsormedia contents streamed via their router to multiple different mobiledevices running media application clients logged into multiple differentaccounts.

For example, if a grocery chain provides free Wi-Fi to customersshopping at their locations, sponsor-directed content inserted into amedia stream can include advertisement(s) for products sold by thegrocery chains. Coffee shops commonly provide free Wi-Fi, providing anopportunity for the coffee shop to provide sponsor-directed content. Forexample, some stores often promote musical artists and prominentlydisplay compact discs at kiosks and at registers for sale to customers.Sponsor-directed content inserted into a media stream can includepromoted tracks that can be purchased from such stores.

In accordance with an embodiment, the method comprises streaming mediacontent for some period of time. If the media server detects that theuser is streaming from a network that acts as a connected mediaenvironment for multiple devices, the media server can determine if theenvironment sponsors media streams. If the connected media environmentis identified as a sponsor of media streams, the media server can accessa pool of sponsor-directed content associated with the connected mediaenvironment. The media server then continues streaming media content tothe requesting device. When the stream time exceeds some amount ofminutes (e.g., x minutes), the media server is prompted to select andinsert the sponsor-directed content into the stream. The media streaminglogic selects sponsor-directed content (e.g., one or moreadvertisements) to stream from the pool identified via the connectedmedia environment based on one or more of obtained metadata related toqualities of the streamed media content, a playlist where the playlistis selected for playback, user profile information, and media devicecontext. Once selected, the sponsor-directed content is streamed to themedia device that requested the previously streamed media content.

In accordance with an embodiment, a system is described for deliveringmedia content and advertisements across a connected media environment,comprising a media server including a microprocessor, and a media serverapplication executing thereon and adapted to receive requests from mediadevices for media content; a media streaming logic adapted to providethe media content in response to the requests from the media devices,including associating a request received from a media device with aplurality of media content items to be delivered as a media stream fromthe media server to the media device; providing, to one or more mediadevices, an advertisement or other sponsor-directed content insertedinto the media stream by the media server, based on one or more mediadevice identifications, user accounts, or session information; andfollowing the user in streaming the advertisement or othersponsor-directed content, within a connected media environment, from oneof a first media device to a second media device, or a first location toa second location.

In accordance with an embodiment, the system supports a methodcomprising providing, at a media server including a microprocessor, amedia server application executing thereon and adapted to receiverequests from media devices for media content; providing a mediastreaming logic adapted to provide the media content in response to therequests from the media devices, including associating a requestreceived from a media device with a plurality of media content items tobe delivered as a media stream from the media server to the mediadevice; providing, to one or more media devices, an advertisement orother sponsor-directed content inserted into the media stream by themedia server, based on one or more media device identifications, useraccounts, or session information; and following the user in streamingthe advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, within a connectedmedia environment, from one of a first media device to a second mediadevice, or a first location to a second location.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media server stores addresses forone or more media devices, and one or more user accounts, for usingduring a session, and uses the media device address and user accountinformation in following the user within the connected mediaenvironment.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media streaming logic causes themedia server application to stream the media and advertisement or othersponsor-directed content, within the connected media environment,automatically as the media device or location thereof changes, ormanually as selected by the user.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media streaming logic insertsdifferent advertisement or other sponsor-directed content into the mediastream based on which of the first or second media device, or first orsecond location is being used.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media streaming logic causes themedia stream to selectively be delivered between one or more of asmartphone, computer, audio speaker, entertainment center, automobile,wearable device or other media device, including serially delivering themedia stream initially to the first media device, and then to the secondmedia device as the media device or location thereof changes, ormanually as selected by the user.

In accordance with an embodiment, the user is associated withpermissions to use one or more user accounts, and the media streaminglogic causes the media server to stream the advertisement or othersponsor-directed content to one of more media devices registered withone or more user accounts either automatically or manually as the mediadevice or location thereof changes, or manually as selected by the user.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media server is adapted to receiveinteraction by the user, as determined by one or more sensors of themedia device including one or more microphone, motion sensor, or cameraadapted to determine a gesture by the user as a user interaction.

In accordance with an embodiment, the media streaming logic causes afirst advertisement or other sponsor-directed content to be streamed toa first media device and a companion advertisement or othersponsor-directed content to a second media device.

In accordance with an embodiment, the companion advertisement providesmore detailed information about the first advertisement, and is moreappropriate for use by the second media device.

Embodiments of the present invention may be conveniently implementedusing one or more conventional general purpose or specialized digitalcomputer, computing device, machine, or microprocessor, including one ormore processors, memory and/or computer readable storage mediaprogrammed according to the teachings of the present disclosure.Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilledprogrammers based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as will beapparent to those skilled in the software art.

In some embodiments, the present invention includes a computer programproduct which is a non-transitory storage medium or computer readablemedium (media) having instructions stored thereon/in which can be usedto program a computer to perform any of the processes of the presentinvention. Examples of the storage medium can include, but is notlimited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical discs, DVD,CD-ROMs, microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs,EEPROMs, DRAMs, VRAMs, flash memory devices, magnetic or optical cards,nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs), or any type of media ordevice suitable for storing instructions and/or data.

The foregoing description of embodiments of the present invention hasbeen provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the preciseforms disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent tothe practitioner skilled in the art.

For example, while several of the examples described above generallyillustrate the use of a Spotify Connect environment, music or song mediacontent, and advertisement-type sponsor-directed content, the systemsand techniques described herein can be similarly used with other typesof connected media environment, other types of media content, and othertypes of sponsor-directed content.

The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical application, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments and with various modifications that are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for providing media content includingwatch-now functionality, the system comprising: a media device includinga microprocessor; a user interface adapted to display media optionscorresponding to items of media content, and determine user inputs; anda media application running on the media device and including a mediaplay logic adapted to control playback of media content received from amedia server, including during playback of a media stream that includesa plurality of media content items, either periodically, or uponreceiving, at the user interface, a user input indicative of skipping toa next media option for playback, displaying, at the user interface, aprompt to elect to play at least one of an offered advertisement orother sponsor-directed content, in return for a period of extended mediaplay; in response to receiving, as a user input, an election by the userto play the offered advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, inreturn for the period of extended media play, playing the offeredadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content, including receiving, aspart of the media stream, an advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent of a first type and duration; and following completion of theplaying of the offered advertisement or other sponsor-directed content,skipping to the next media option for playback, including streaming thenext media content item associated with the media stream, configuringthe media play logic for the period of extended media play, andcontinuing to play the media stream according to the period of extendedmedia play; otherwise, if no election is received to play the offeredadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content, in return for theperiod of extended media play, playing an advertisement or othersponsor-directed content of a second type and duration, skipping to thenext media option for playback, including streaming the next mediacontent item associated with the media stream, and configuring the mediaplay logic to play the media stream for a period of regular media play.2. The system of claim 1, wherein configuring the media play logic for aperiod of regular media play comprises configuring the media play logicto present advertisements or other sponsor-directed content having ashorter duration than those associated with a period of extended mediaplay, between shorter intervals of media playback than for a period ofextended media play.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein configuring themedia play logic for a period of extended media play comprisesconfiguring the media play logic to present advertisements or othersponsor-directed content having a longer duration than those associatedwith a period of regular media play, between longer intervals of mediaplayback than for a period of regular media play.
 4. The system of claim1, wherein the media play logic is adapted to prompt the user to selectone of an extended media play configuration or regular media playconfiguration for subsequent advertisements or other sponsor-directedcontent, and in response to receiving a selection of the extended mediaplay configuration, the media play logic is configured to playsubsequently offered advertisements or other sponsor-directed content,in return for subsequent periods of extended media play.
 5. The systemof claim 1, wherein the media server includes a targeting service thatanalyzes a playing media content and selects advertisements or othersponsor-directed content for delivery in conjunction with the playingmedia content, including associating a request for media content, withthe media device, wherein the request includes an identifyinginformation which identifies a destination device to which the mediacontent is to be streamed, and determining a particular advertisement orother sponsor-directed content to be combined with the streamed mediacontent.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the media device and a seconddevice are associated with a common account, and advertisement or othersponsor-directed content is selected for delivery to the media devicebased at least in part on advertisements or other sponsor-directedcontent previously streamed at the second device.
 7. The system of claim1, wherein the period of extended media play is obtained in return forplaying the offered advertisement or other sponsor-directed content at afirst media device, and the system is configured to play the mediastream according to the period of extended media play, at a second mediadevice.
 8. A method for providing media content including watch-nowfunctionality, the method comprising: providing, at a media deviceincluding a microprocessor, a user interface adapted to display mediaoptions corresponding to items of media content adapted to be receivedfrom a media server, and determine user inputs, and a media applicationrunning on the media device; controlling playback of media contentreceived from the media server, including during playback of a mediastream that includes a plurality of media content items, eitherperiodically, or upon, receiving, at the user interface, a user inputindicative of skipping to a next media option for playback, displaying,at the user interface, a prompt to elect to play at least one of anoffered advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, in return for aperiod of extended media play; in response to receiving, as a userinput, an election by the user to play the offered advertisement orother sponsor-directed content, in return for the period of extendedmedia play, playing the offered advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent, including receiving, as part of the media stream, anadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content of a first type andduration; and following completion of the playing of the offeredadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content, skipping to the nextmedia option for playback, including streaming the next media contentitem associated with the media stream, configuring the playback of mediacontent for the period of extended media play, and continuing to playthe media stream according to the period of extended media play;otherwise, if no election is received to play the offered advertisementor other sponsor-directed content, in return for the period of extendedmedia play, playing an advertisement or other sponsor-directed contentof a second type and duration, skipping to the next media option forplayback, including streaming the next media content item associatedwith the media stream, and configuring the playback of media content fora period of regular media play.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinconfiguring the playback of media content for a period of regular mediaplay comprises presenting advertisements or other sponsor-directedcontent having a shorter duration than those associated with a period ofextended media play, between shorter intervals of media playback thanfor a period of extended media play.
 10. The method of claim 8, whereinconfiguring the playback of media content for a period of extended mediaplay comprises presenting advertisements or other sponsor-directedcontent having a longer duration than those associated with a period ofregular media play, between longer intervals of media playback than fora period of regular media play.
 11. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising prompting the user to select one of an extended media playconfiguration or regular media play configuration for subsequentadvertisements or other sponsor-directed content, and in response toreceiving a selection of the extended media play configuration, playingsubsequently offered advertisements or other sponsor-directed content,in return for subsequent periods of extended media play.
 12. The methodof claim 8, wherein the media server includes a targeting service thatanalyzes a playing media content and selects advertisements or othersponsor-directed content for delivery in conjunction with the playingmedia content, including associating a request for media content, withthe media device, wherein the request includes an identifyinginformation which identifies a destination device to which the mediacontent is to be streamed, and determining a particular advertisement orother sponsor-directed content to be combined with the streamed mediacontent.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the media device and asecond device are associated with a common account, and the methodfurther comprises selecting advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent for delivery to the media device based at least in part onadvertisements or other sponsor-directed content previously streamed atthe second device.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the period ofextended media play is obtained in return for playing the offeredadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content at a first media device,and the method further comprises playing the media stream according tothe period of extended media play, at a second media device.
 15. Anon-transitory computer readable storage medium, including instructionsstored thereon which when read and executed by one or more computerdevices cause the one or more computer devices to perform stepscomprising: displaying, at a user interface, media options correspondingto items of media content adapted to be received from a media server,and determining user inputs; controlling, by a media application runningon a media device, playback of media content received from the mediaserver, including during playback of a media stream that includes aplurality of media content items, either periodically, or upon,receiving, at the user interface, a user input indicative of skipping toa next media option for playback, input, displaying, at the userinterface, a prompt to elect to play at least one of an offeredadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content, in return for a periodof extended media play; in response to receiving, as a user input, anelection by the user to play the offered advertisement or othersponsor-directed content, in return for the period of extended mediaplay, playing the offered advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent, including receiving, as part of the media stream, anadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content of a first type andduration; and following completion of the playing of the offeredadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content, skipping to the nextmedia option for playback, including streaming the next media contentitem associated with the media stream, configuring the playback of mediacontent for the period of extended media play, and continuing to playthe media stream according to the period of extended media play;otherwise, if no election is received to play the offered advertisementor other sponsor-directed content, in return for the period of extendedmedia play, playing an advertisement or other sponsor-directed contentof a second type and duration, skipping to the next media option forplayback, including streaming the next media content item associatedwith the media stream, and configuring the playback of media content fora period of regular media play.
 16. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 15, wherein configuring the playback of mediacontent for a period of regular media play comprises presentingadvertisements or other sponsor-directed content having a shorterduration than those associated with a period of extended media play,between shorter intervals of media playback than for a period ofextended media play.
 17. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 15, wherein configuring the playback of media contentfor a period of extended media play comprises presenting advertisementsor other sponsor-directed content having a longer duration than thoseassociated with a period of regular media play, between longer intervalsof media playback than for a period of regular media play.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein theinstructions further cause the one or more computer devices to promptthe user to select one of an extended media play configuration orregular media play configuration for subsequent advertisements or othersponsor-directed content, and in response to receiving a selection ofthe extended media play configuration, playing subsequently offeredadvertisements or other sponsor-directed content, in return forsubsequent periods of extended media play.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the media serverincludes a targeting service that analyzes a playing media content andselects advertisements or other sponsor-directed content for delivery inconjunction with the playing media content, including associating arequest for media content, with the media device, wherein the requestincludes an identifying information which identifies a destinationdevice to which the media content is to be streamed, and determining aparticular advertisement or other sponsor-directed content to becombined with the streamed media content.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the media deviceand a second device are associated with a common account, and theinstructions further cause the one or more computer devices to selectadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content for delivery to themedia device based at least in part on advertisements or othersponsor-directed content previously streamed at the second device. 21.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, whereinthe period of extended media play is obtained in return for playing theoffered advertisement or other sponsor-directed content at a first mediadevice, and the instructions further cause the one or more computerdevices to play the media stream according to the period of extendedmedia play, at a second media device.
 22. A system for providing mediacontent including watch-now functionality, the system comprising: amedia server including a microprocessor, and a media server applicationexecuting thereon and adapted to receive requests from media devices formedia content; and a media streaming logic adapted to provide the mediacontent in response to the requests from the media devices, includingduring playback of a media stream that includes a plurality of mediacontent items, either periodically, or upon receiving, at a mediaapplication running on a media device, a user input indicative ofskipping to a next media option for playback, causing a prompt to bedisplayed to a user of the media device to elect to play at least one ofan offered advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, in returnfor a period of extended media play; in response to receiving, as a userinput, an election by the user to play the offered advertisement orother sponsor-directed content, in return for the period of extendedmedia play, causing the offered advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent to be played at the media device, including inserting into themedia stream, an advertisement or other sponsor-directed content of afirst type and duration; and following completion of the playing of theoffered advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, skipping to thenext media option for playback, including streaming the next mediacontent item associated with the media stream, causing the media deviceto be configured for the period of extended media play, and continuingto stream the media stream according to the period of extended mediaplay; otherwise, if no election is received to play the offeredadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content, in return for theperiod of extended media play, causing an advertisement or othersponsor-directed content of a second type and duration to be played atthe media device, skipping to the next media option for playback,including streaming the next media content item associated with themedia stream, and streaming the media stream for a period of regularmedia play.
 23. A method for providing media content including watch-nowfunctionality, the method comprising: providing, at a media serverincluding a microprocessor, a media server application executing thereonand adapted to receive requests from media devices for media content;and providing a media streaming logic adapted to provide the mediacontent in response to the requests from the media devices, includingduring playback of a media stream that includes a plurality of mediacontent items, either periodically, or upon receiving, at a mediaapplication running on a media device, a user input indicative ofskipping to a next media option for playback, causing a prompt to bedisplayed to a user of the media device to elect to play at least one ofan offered advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, in returnfor a period of extended media play; in response to receiving, as a userinput, an election by the user to play the offered advertisement orother sponsor-directed content, in return for the period of extendedmedia play, causing the offered advertisement or other sponsor-directedcontent to be played at the media device, including inserting into themedia stream, an advertisement or other sponsor-directed content of afirst type and duration; and following completion of the playing of theoffered advertisement or other sponsor-directed content, skipping to thenext media option for playback, including streaming the next mediacontent item associated with the media stream, causing the media deviceto be configured for the period of extended media play, and continuingto stream the media stream according to the period of extended mediaplay; otherwise, if no election is received to play the offeredadvertisement or other sponsor-directed content, in return for theperiod of extended media play, causing an advertisement or othersponsor-directed content of a second type and duration to be played atthe media device, skipping to the next media option for playback,including streaming the next media content item associated with themedia stream, and streaming the media stream for a period of regularmedia play.